If we were to sit down and listen to the complete works of Antonín Dvořák in one sitting, we wouldn't leave our chairs for three and a half days. Although the Budapest Festival Orchestra will play only an hour from his oeuvre, that hour flashes with a thousand colours. Most of these pieces were written during Dvořák's 'Slavic period', the most productive time of his life. Since piano four hands was in fashion in his time, Dvořák wrote his Legends (1881) and Slavonic Dances (1878) as piano duets, which were only later adapted into orchestral pieces. Brahms, his great predecessor, was not only inspired by, but also a great admirer of these cycles. The Legends, owing to their fineness, intimacy and lyricism, are referred to as counter-points to the energetic, at times flamboyant Slavonic Dances. Dvořák composed most of his choral works before his Slavic period, and the piece to be heard here is sung by the orchestra itself. The Czech master adored the railroad. He would have traded all his symphonies to have been the one to invent the steam locomotive, but fortunately for us, things turned out differently. His Symphony No. 6 (1880), which radiates warmth and serenity, is pure summer happiness pulsing with the magic of the Czech countryside.
Dvořák's ancestors were living as innkeepers and butchers in a small village near Prague when the 28-year-old Beethoven himself performed his Piano Concerto No. 1 (1798) in the Czech capital. The Budapest Festival Orchestra will perform this piece along with the young Zoltán Fejérvári, who, after winning first prize in the 2017 Montreal International Piano Competition, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in his international career.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra