Béla Bartók, the composer of the concertos, stands at the center of this concert, and alongside his admired figure, the role and significance of the artists who inspired these compositions also come to the fore. In the case of the Piano Concerto No. 1, the composer naturally tailored the solo part to his own exceptional performing abilities, which is why the work, premiered in Frankfurt in 1927, ended up being “somewhat – or rather, very – difficult” mainly for the orchestra and the audience. At the end of his life, the Viola Concerto was written at the request of William Primrose, who was regarded as a master of the instrument. However, the creative process, which confronted Bartók with exciting challenges, was tragically cut short. As a result, the work could only be premiered posthumously in 1949, thanks to the later contribution of his friend and colleague, Tibor Serly. On this occasion, however, the audience will hear a true rarity: a 2017 reconstruction of the piece by Miklós Rakos, based on the Fibonacci sequence.

The Violin Concerto No. 2 – in terms of form, character, and extraordinary level of difficulty – was composed entirely with the needs and capabilities of Zoltán Székely in mind, a testament to the composer’s geniality and thoughtfulness. For this concert, András Keller invites exceptional soloists to the stage for all three concertos: Fülöp Ránki, Máté Szűcs, and Barnabás Kelemen.