Beethoven In The Park – Martonvásár – Summer 2022 by Beethoven, Fra (2022/2022), Dirigent Levente Török, Brunszvik Castle, Martonvasar, Hungary

On the programme for the summer at the castle park of Martonvásár are Beethoven’s even-numbered symphonies. At the third concert in the series, two such works in F major will bookend a vocal composition. Dating from 1808, the Sixth Symphony, known as the “Pastoral”, is a precursor to 19th-century programme music: in the score, the composer indicates at the beginning of each movement what events the music will evoke. The serene piece glorifies the beauty of village life, the harmony of man and nature. The lightness of the Eighth Symphony makes it a temporary return to classical traditions following the gravity and power of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh. The concert aria Ah! Perfido (“Ah! Unfaithful One”) constitutes a dramatic scene: Beethoven composed it for an excerpt from the full text of Achille in Sciro by the famous 18th-century librettist Pietro Metastasio in 1796 for the Czech soprano Josepha Duschek. Lilla Horti, who has had successful showings in numerous competitions, is an outstandingly talented member of the younger generation of Hungarian singers. Levente Török graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and has served as the first conductor at Theatre Ulm since 2018. In the summer of 2021, he won the First Llíria International Conducting Competition in Valencia. The serenity of even numbers “Could there exist a mathematical phenomenon that indicates that even numbers are more cheerful than odd ones? Very unlikely – especially as the ancient Romans believed even numbers brought bad luck. In the programmes for this year’s summer Beethoven concerts at Martonvásár, we’ll be dispensing with the grand and serious, world-saving, odd-numbered symphonies: instead of the tribute to a hero of the Third, the struggle against Fate of the Fifth, the apotheosis of dance that is the Seventh, and the ecstatic exultation in joy of the Ninth, this time we will evoke the playfulness and serenity of the lighter even-numbered symphonies – the Second, the Fourth, the Sixth and the Eighth. The three outstanding artists – Mátyás Antal, Balázs Kocsár and Levente Török – represent three different generations of Hungarian conductors, while the soloists are among the country’s very finest singers and instrumentalists. We look forward to welcoming you to hear Beethoven’s music on three summer evenings under the boughs of the Brunszvik Castle park! We hope the Romans will be proved wrong and it won’t rain.” Domonkos Herboly, general director of the National Philharmonic