Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the pride of the French musical life and at the same time a dedicated and iconic figure in the interpretation of 20th century and contemporary music will be the guest of the Concerto Budapest at this evening. This time, the globetrotting soloist performs the second piano concerto by Brahms, which is not only familiar to Hungarian concertgoers, but at the same time a work that we have cause to be proud of since the first public performance of the Concerto in B-flat major was in Hungary, in the Pesti Vigadó, in 1881. The second half opens with two Debussy works arranged for grand orchestra; both instrumentalizations were carried out by hugely imaginative conductors from the last century, Leopold Stokowski and Bernardino Molinari. Bartók’s “one-act pantomime” based on the story of Menyhért Lengyel was created between 1918 and 1924, but the revolutionary novel nature of the Mandarin elicited considerable scandal for some time: for example, after the world premiere in Cologne in 1926, the then mayor Konrad Adenauer banned any further performances.