Mikhail Pletnev, Zoltán Fejérvári and the Concerto Budapest

Liszt Academy, Grand Hall

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliette » selection from the movements of the op. 64b & op. 64c suites
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony, Op. 58

The programme for this concert consists of pieces from two maestros from Russian music history. The protagonists are musicians who would be able to make the concert of the Liszt Academy a real festivity on their own: they are Mihail Pletnev, who will be conducting on this occasion, and pianist Zoltán Fejérvári.

In the first part, pieces by Prokofiev will be played: a few movements from Romeo and Juliet, which enchants the audience both on ballet stages and in concert halls. In addition, there will be the most popular of his five keyboard concerti, the Concerto for Piano No. 3, which was completed in 1921. This piece requires a soloist who is able to completely control his instrument: who can play with fierce harshness, sarcastic humour, and even a delicate touch, and who is also sensitive to chamber music effects. Without doubt, Zoltán Fejérvári is exactly such a pianist. After the intermission, Lord Byron’s Faust will be conjured up, as we could call and characterize Manfred, the protagonist (or rather antagonist) of the dramatic poem by the English poet. Between May and September 1885, Tchaikovsky composed a programme symphony about Manfred, whose restless figure is superhuman tormented by the memory of his sins.