1607 was a significant turning point in Monteverdi's life, hence in the history of music as well. His groundbreaking opera, L'Orfeo, was premiered and the first volume of Scherzi musicali was published. Written for three voice parts and instrumental continuo, the characteristic rhythms and atmosphere of the eighteen short pieces evoke the pastoral surroundings of the 5th book of Madrigals, published two years earlier. Bartók's violin concerto, composed around 1907-1908 and never published during his lifetime (which is often referred to as Violin Concerto No. I) is a confession, the musical imprint of unrequited love and the result of processing an experience. At the age of 27, the young composer sent the concerto about her to Stefi Geyer, the woman he was in love with. She was given her own five-note leitmotif or musical motto in the piece, and the two movements show her two faces. After the portrait of the idealized, celestial and inward woman, in the second movement, we can hear the cheerful, witty and amusing Stefi. The serial number of Schubert's "The Great” Symphony in C major is somewhat unclear. After his first six, the composer started working on several symphonies but finished only one of them - the work we know today as his Ninth. It lasts one hour, or as Schumann put it, it is of "heavenly length”, breaking the limits set by classic standards; musicians and the public both needed a long time to get to grips with this grandiose work of art.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra