Péter Eötvös, Kristóf Baráti and Concerto Budapest

Composition and conducting still fill the life of Péter Eötvös with the same intensity: his pieces are performed by the world's leading musicians, and he himself has received the opportunity to conduct the finest orchestras as a conductor. This time around, we will get the chance to encounter two recently completed compositions of his: Sirens' Song, written in 2020, was influenced not only by Homer's Odyssey, but also by the ideas of Franz Kafka and James Joyce in how the composer "attempts to m...ake audible” the bewitching and fatal singing of the sirens. Alhambra, Eötvös's third violin concerto, dating from 2018, took its inspiration from the architectural wonder in Granada, the landscapes of Andalusia and from Isabelle Faust and Pablo Heras-Casado, who later became the first people to perform it. Fond of incorporating musical cryptograms into his works, Eötvös encoded the letters of the name "Alhambra" into the music of this one as a main theme. Performing as the soloist will be the extraordinary violinist Kristóf Baráti, who has been playing new works with increasing frequency. The music of Debussy took a prominent place in Eötvös's repertoire as a conductor very early on, with one early critic saying that his interpretation of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune sheds light on the details as well, so the French master's popular works being played here are sure to be illuminated in a new way.

Presented by: Concerto Budapest