Although In the South is officially an overture, the length and difficulty of the piece suggests a symphonic composition. "This is Elgar's richest, most colourful and ingeniously instrumented piece, on a par with Strauss in terms of its masterful use of orchestral effects," the composer's biographer Michael Kennedy wrote. In autumn 1782, Mozart composed three piano concertos, of which he famously wrote to his father in a letter dated 28 December: "These concertos are a happy medium between what... is too easy and too difficult; they are very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and natural, without being vapid. There are passages here and there from which the connoisseurs alone can derive satisfaction; but these passages are written in such a way that the less learned cannot fail to be pleased, though without knowing why." The completion of Ein Heldenleben in 1899 came at the end of a remarkably successful decade in Richard Strauss's life. The tone poem was dedicated to Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its première was conducted by the composer himself in Frankfurt on 4 March 1899. Critics were divided, but audiences were not – the première was immediately followed by several further performances in Germany, sparking almost ecstatic reactions almost everywhere it was played. Mark Elder is the musical director of The Hallé in Manchester, but frequently appears as a guest conductor with other leading symphony orchestras, working particularly closely with the London Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is also a sought-after opera conductor and has played in Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera House, the Bastille Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. Despite his tender age, American pianist Jonathan Biss has performed alongside a host of great composers and is a welcome guest at all the major festivals. He made his début in Paris, Brussels, Milan and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2006, before his successful appearance in the Budapest Festival Orchestra's season ticket series in 2007. Presented by: The Budapest Festival Orchestra
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.