It may appear surprising that the two masters of the ‘silver age’ of Viennese operetta, Ferenc Lehár and Imre Kálmán, should appear on the same programme of Hungarian Gems, yet the decision is fully justified since the light internationalism and Hungarian feature (of which we are justifiably proud) of their works are well known. The melodies of their all-conquering operettas have proved to be timelessly popular and this will be amply proven in this programme by these orchestral pieces conducted by Róbert Farkas, as well as those prima donna solos which will be performed by Erika Miklósa, whose talents have also taken the operetta world by storm. In addition to operetta excerpts, the programme includes two special Lehár compositions: the Concertino (1888) composed when he was barely 18, the soloist of which is Miranda Liu, concertmaster of the ensemble and multiple competition winner; and the noteworthy Gold and Silver Waltz (1902) written for the Vienna ball of aristocrat Pauline von Metternich (grandchild of chancellor Metternich and daughter of Count Móric Sándor), connoisseur of music and patron of the arts.