Concerto Budapest celebrate Christmas with some real ‘classical music hits’, putting together a seasonal bouquet of the most popular classics. Guest soloist for the evening is Anna Vinnitskaya, winner of the 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels. She is considered one of the most promising Russian pianists of her generation. 

Tchaikovsky’s magical Christmas suite was partly inspired by the death of his beloved sister Sasha and the memory of their many happy Christmases spent together (see: figure of Clara). The Nutcracker is, among other things, a musical memorial to sibling love and at the same time the composer’s last stage work.

The sublime drama of Rachmaninov’s most famous, second piano concerto was written amidst similarly troubled times. The composition marks the Russian master finally overcoming his struggle (across several years) with creative block and a nervous breakdown. Rachmaninov dedicated the Piano Concerto No. 2 to his doctor, Nikolai Dahl, in gratitude for his assistance in making a recovery. We know little detail about the background to Brahms’s extraordinarily popular Hungarian Dances, but it is certain that they are timeless pieces of vernacular music set to arranged music.