Symphonies And Concert Arias by Mozart, Haydn, Från (2023/2023), Dirigent Stephan MacLeod, Liszt Academy, Budapest, Ungern

The programme scheduled for the second night of the Ferencsik season ticket series, which is comprised solely of Viennese Classical masterpieces, is itself a sort of composition: both parts consist of an overture, a concert aria and a symphony: in the first part, the overture is by Mozart and the symphony by Haydn, while after the break it will be the other way around. (Mozart wrote both concert arias.) What makes this event unique is the special surprise that the sole guest artist at the concert has in store for the audience. It went without saying that musicians of the Baroque and Viennese Classical periods needed to be versatile. Bach played the harpsichord and organ, as well as the violin, cello and viola da gamba. If Haydn and Mozart were alive today, they would nod their heads in approval upon learning that not only is Switzerland’s Stephan MacLeod a fine conductor: he is also an outstanding bass singer who is even willing to demonstrate these two skills of his to the audience simultaneously at a single concert. And this is exactly what he will do for two numbers this evening, singing the two Mozart concert arias with his rich colourful bass voice – while also directing the orchestra. However, the rest of the concert also promises a wealth of experiences, as the two overtures, from La clemenza di Tito and L’anima del filosofo, are valuable and meaningful pieces of music, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 78 in C minor is a credit to his mature style of the early 1780s. The finale crowning the evening is the ‘Great’ G-minor Symphony: its dark and gloomy tone and characters revealing a troubled state of mind, in a certain sense, already foreshadow the Romanticism that was to be born a few decades later. One exciting feature of the Ferencsik season ticket is the way that the Viennese Classical pieces in the series are performed by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra with a reduced number of forces in order to match the style, resulting in a sleeker sound and more agile playing. The four concerts of the Ferencsik season ticket invite you to enter the musical Garden of Eden made up of masterpieces of the Viennese Classical style. The music of Mozart, Haydn and Michael Haydn promises ethereal sounds. Each concert will close with a late Mozart symphony: his three final works in the genre and the ‘Prague’ symphony. While each programme features a Haydn symphony as well, we will also hear both overtures and concert arias, with Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas performing Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for violin and viola, and Petra Somlai taking on the Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (K. 467). The fortepiano refers to the pursuit of authenticity – which is also indicated by the fact that the works will be performed by ensembles smaller than a full symphonic orchestra. Two programmes will be conducted by chief music director György Vashegyi, and one by the Swiss musician Stephan MacLeod, who will also sing while conducting two concert arias, as he is an excellent bass. On the third night, we will get the chance to welcome an old friend of the orchestra, the French conductor and oboe virtuoso François Leleux, this time interpreting Haydn’s C-major concerto for the instrument.