The Festival Orchestra's recurring guest conductor this time will take the stage to present two works that, despite being traditional in terms of form, are nevertheless musically quite exceptional. Beethoven's sole violin concerto is written in D major, one of the most congenial keys for the solo instrument. Requiring three-quarters of an hour to play, it fills half the length of a concert. It was commissioned by Franz Clement, who regularly came to pester the composer to make sure the work was progressing properly and performed it as the soloist at the première, reading from the score without even once having rehearsed it with the orchestra. With its obstacles requiring virtuosity to negotiate and its sensual virtuosity, the work presents the violinist with a doubly difficult task. However, in the hands of Benjamin Beilman, who in spite of his youth is adept in an extremely wide range of styles and who has played the greatest violin concertos in the music literature, the quality of the performance is not in question.
While Schumann's second symphony includes a quotation of Beethoven, it is primarily the influence of Bach that it reveals. And this is no wonder, either, as the composer and his wife, Clara, had thoroughly studied the Baroque master's style. What he learned from Beethoven, though, was the musical depiction of the heroic path leading from grim darkness toward the light. When he started to write the work, Schumann was at a nadir both physically and in terms of the state of his nerves: he was afflicted with mood swings, memory problems and buzzing in his ears. Even so, upon hearing Schubert's 'Great' Symphony No. 9 in C major, he started composing, and when he
reached the finalé, he found a positive sound that conveyed the hope for healing.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra