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Beethoven in the Park
Beethoven in the Park – July 2024
The Hungarian National Philharmonic concert series in Martonvásár
Program
Current events
Saturday, 6 July 2024, 7 pm
(rain date: Sunday, 7 July)
Leonore Overture No. 3, op. 72/b
Violin Concerto in D major, op. 61
Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”), op. 68
Ádám Banda violin
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Charles Olivieri-Munroe
Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, pays tribute to love, loyalty, and the desire for liberty. In his quest for perfection, the composer wrote a total of four overtures for the work, which premiered in November 1805 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Leonore Overture No. 3 is the most compelling and dramatic of the four, and also the most popular. The further two pieces on the programme are innovations in their respective genres. With his Violin Concerto in D major (1806), Beethoven broke with the concerto ideal that placed virtuosity at the forefront. Instead, the composer created an expansive opus defined most strikingly by its spirituality, poetic nature and richness of thought. Symphony No. 6 (1808) is a similarly groundbreaking work: its five movements tell us of the relationships between man and nature and the delights of rural life. It is worth not only paying attention to the folk-influenced sound, but also the powerful descriptive spirit of the music, as a range of illustrative sounds depicts everything from birdsong to babbling brooks and storms. By inserting a textual explanation at the start of each movement, with the Pastoral Symphony, Beethoven created one of the most significant forerunners of the programme music that would develop in the mid-19th century. Ádám Banda (b. 1986) is one of the most outstanding talents of the middle generation of Hungarian violinists, and achieved success in numerous international competitions at the start of his career. He is an illustrious soloist and chamber musician. The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded 101 years ago and is currently led by chief music director György Vashegyi, will be conducted by Charles Olivieri-Munroe (b. 1961), who is equally at home with musical theatre productions and in the world of symphony music. Critics have praised the charismatic power of Olivieri-Munroe’s performance style and his commitment to the clarity of symphonic sound.
Saturday, 13 July 2024, 7 pm
(rain date: Sunday, 14 July)
King Stephen-overture, op. 117
Symphony No. 1 in C major, op. 21
Christ on the Mount of Olives – oratorio, op. 85
Klára Kolonits soprano
Márton Komáromi tenor
Zsombor Cserményi bass
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: György Vashegyi
The King Stephen-overture (1811) is a perfect fit for the programme of the Beethoven concert series in Martonvásár, given that the composer had a well-documented relationship with Hungary. August von Kotzebue’s play, King Stephen, was commissioned for the opening of the German Theatre in Pest (it would eventually take place slightly later, in 1812): Beethoven wrote the overture, the most well-known part of the incidental music. The melodies of the verbunkos – a form of Hungarian dance – signal the Hungarian connection. Of Beethoven’s symphonic productions, Symphony No. 1 was the piece that is most closely tied to the earlier achievements of Viennese Classicism and the later symphonies of Haydn and Mozart. The scope, orchestral arrangement, proportions and gestures of the four-movement work reveal none of the revolutionary innovations that would alter Beethoven’s symphonic world in Symphony No. 3. The rarely heard Christ on the Mount of Olives is a true rarity. Beethoven never wrote a passion, yet this oratorio composed for soloists, choir and orchestra depicts with deep human intimacy the struggle of the Redeemer in the hours spent at night in the Garden of Gethsemane, between the last supper and his arrest. Klára Kolonits, a contracted vocalist at the Hungarian State Opera, is one of Hungary’s most successful sopranos. She has successfully represented Hungarian music internationally in the genres of both opera and oratorio. Audiences have been enjoying Márton Komáromi’s performances as a soloist since 2006. The tenor most often takes the stage in the oratorio productions of the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Chorus. Baritone Zsombor Cserményi has been a member of the Hungarian National Choir since 2019, and often appears as a concert soloist as well. Cserményi has worked with numerous Hungarian ensembles, both in Budapest and elsewhere in the country, performing at Müpa Budapest and the Liszt Academy, and the Votive Church of Szeged and Debrecen’s Kölcsey Centre, as well as abroad, including at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Slovenia’s Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana. His repertoire is primarily comprised of oratorical works from the Baroque and Romantic periods. The Hungarian National Choir was formed in 1985, with Csaba Somos its choirmaster since 2016. The predecessor to the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1923. György Vashegyi, who is a central figure on the Hungarian music scene, has been the general music director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic since autumn 2022.
Saturday, 20 July 2024, 7 pm
(rain date: Sunday, 21 July)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36
Ah! Perfido – concert aria, op. 65
Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92
Réka Kristóf soprano
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Dániel Erdélyi
The concert aria Ah! Perfido (1796) originates from the start of Beethoven’s career. He wrote the dramatic scena for the famed soprano Josepha Duschek during his stay in Prague. The work is tied to the earlier stylistic phase of Viennese Classicism. The work’s lyricist, Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782), was the creator of countless Baroque opera librettos, and undoubtedly represents the past in the context of young Beethoven’s early attempts. The two orchestral pieces that frame the programme see two contrasting phases of Beethoven’s development in the symphonic genre come face to face. Symphony No. 2 (1801–02) is full of a lust for life, jovial playfulness and humour – the piece’s optimistic mood and revitalised energetic character provide a thrilling contrast to the fact that the symphony’s composition coincided with the writing of the Heiligenstadt Testament. In this tragically toned work that nonetheless reflects a profound humanism, the composer confronts the nightmare of irreversible deafness. A decade later, Symphony No. 7 (1811–12) surrenders to the beat of ancient dactylic rhythms, singing the cult of movement in a celebratory tone full of Dionysian rapture. No wonder Wagner described the piece as “the apotheosis of dance”. Just like Symphony No. 2, this work radiates energy – just in a far more elemental manner. Born in Komárom, Réka Kristóf completed her studies at the opera department of Munich’s Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding. Taking the top spot in the 2017 Virtuózok television talent search programme earned her a trip to Carnegie Hall as one of her prizes. Dániel Erdélyi (b. 1988) represents the younger generation and will conduct the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1923. Erdélyi was trained at the Liszt Academy and is a conductor at the Hungarian State Opera and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics Orchestra. He is an organist as well and the founding choirmaster of the Central Calvinist Choir.
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