This concert features one of the most successful young Hungarian musicians of recent years playing an extraordinarily virtuoso cello concerto that was written by Haydn for the Esterházy court orchestra's cellist and only unearthed in 1951. Born in 1985, István Várdai took third place at the 2007 Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition and first prize the following year at the Concours de Genève, while also going on to win the prestigious ARD competition run by German radio. With extraordinary speed..., he has become an internationally recognised and sought-after artist, and currently teaches at the Kronberg Academy. A second member of the triad of the First Vienna School, Mozart, was unemployed when he set off on a journey - which would later prove unnecessary - around Europe in search of work. While residing in Paris, he composed his Symphony No. 31 in D major with its wealth of exciting effects. In consideration of the tastes and expectations of local audiences at the time, he wrote it for an unusually large orchestra, while at the same time having them on with his uniquely unexpected twists and turns: a Mozartean nose-thumbing. The second symphony in the concert dates from a good 110 years later: characterised by solidly mature Romanticism and the warmth and singing of its broadly flowing melodies, intimate lyricism and cheerful optimism, it differs in these respects from the composer's much more frequently heard New World Symphony.
The conductor for the evening is a returning guest at the helm of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra: the American Lawrence Foster is music director of the Opéra de Marseille and honorary conductor of Lisbon's Gulbenkian Orchestra, in addition to working regularly with orchestras both in Europe and around the world.
Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Refreshments – Without the Queue
Thanks to our new catering service at the Átrium Snack Bar, you can forget about waiting in line during intermissions for some refreshments and get your order prepped especially for you by the time the intermission actually starts. Find out more about pre-ordering here.
Safe ticket purchase
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