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Clive Peacock reviews Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra at Warwick Arts Centre

Many in the audience retained vivid memories of an outstanding performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony by the City of Birmingham Youth Orchestra last month. The opportunity to hear the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra’s interpretation of his Ninth Symphony helped swell the audience. Male players dressed in white tie and tails and female in black gowns graced the vast platform with over 100 players, delivering remarkable crisp brass, exquisite string and invigorating wind playing. Their varied programme included Shostakovich, Liszt, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

Review by Agnes Kory on Seen and Heard international

I do not understand why Concerto Budapest’s five-city UK/Ireland tour has been promoted with the unwieldy name of Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra. In my view, this excellent Hungarian orchestra should be promoted and known with its own name. In their reports, several reviewers – somewhat understandably – shortened the long English name to CBSO which, unfortunately, brings the other CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) to mind.

Under the unflashy direction of Andras Keller, one of Hungary’s leading orchestras played with bags of character at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Review by Rebecca Franks on The Times Thursday December 04 2025

With the German Christmas market in full swing, and one of Hungary’s leading orchestras on stage at Symphony Hall, it was easy to imagine I was somewhere in central Europe rather than the West Midlands as I walked through Birmingham. The Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra had stopped off intown as part of its third tour of the UK and Ireland, bringing agenerously packed programme and making the evening an unmissable event.

The programme – Beethoven, Shostakovich, Liszt – may have been traditional, but the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra excelled throughout

You could say the programme offered by this fine Hungarian symphony orchestra was hackneyed. Three warhorses galloped by in succession.

Review by Ivan Hewett on The Telegraph

That said, Lewis is in Edinburgh this weekend for an Usher Hall concert marking the only Scottish date in a five-city UK/Ireland tour with the idiosyncratic Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, in which he turns his attention back to Beethoven. He’ll perform the Third Piano Concerto under the orchestra’s music director András Keller, who also conducts Tchaikovsky’s symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini, Liszt’s Les Preludes and Beethoven’s Symphony No 5.

Posted on VOXCARNYXS 

Concerto Budapest returned to Dublin last night, only two years after their last impressive appearance, and once again proved its mettle. Under the direction of András Keller, who has led the ensemble since 2007, this century-old orchestra delivered a programme steeped in high-Romantic drama: two C minor masterpieces by Beethoven forming the backbone of the evening, framed by Tchaikovsky and Liszt symphonic poems. Review By Andrew Larkin on Bachtrack.com

In Tune - Live with Katie Derham - BBC Sounds

Katie Derham introduces conductor András Keller who leads Concerto Budapest in their most recent tour.

Watch the full interview by clicking HERE!

Between November 29 and December 7, Concerto Budapest will perform in five cities with three different programs, featuring pianist Paul Lewis as soloist. The orchestra will appear in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Dublin, Coventry, Birmingham, London, and Edinburgh.

András Keller considers the tour to be of outstanding significance, with works by Shostakovich, Beethoven, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky on the program. Read more in Gramphone Magazine's newest issue! 

Can music have a meaning? Should music have a meaning? Anyone who has so much as opened a book about classical music, or distractedly read some programme notes, has probably encountered this question. Ever since Liszt and Wagner coined two notorious terms – ‘symphonic poem’ and ‘absolute music’ – the ebb and flow of music history has left a variety of opinions on the shore. In the case of András Keller, founder of the Keller Quartet and Chief Conductor of Concerto Budapest, the answer is unequivocable: music not only can, but must have a message – and it is a musician’s task to convey it, or bring it to light when it is not immediately clear. By Elena Luporini on bachtrack.com

We're coming to you LIVE from Budapest, Hungary, for an all-concerto concert at the Bartók Festival presented by Concerto Budapest.

To mark the 80th anniversary of Béla Bartók’s passing on September 26th, Concerto Budapest is launching a festival celebrating the legacy and works of the renowned composer. The festival will feature Concertos, Sonatas, and Rhapsodies by Bartók in a series of five concerts.