Tchaikovsky composed the Manfred Symphony, his sole programmatic work of more than one movement, in between his fourth and fifth symphonies in 1885. The Manfred theme took an interesting route in finding its way to the composer: set in the Alps, the story derives from a dramatic poem by Byron, on which basis the Russian music critic Vladimir Stasov wrote the synopsis for a work of program music. Initially he offered it to his compatriot Mily Balakirev for adaptation, before passing it on to the ...master of program music Hector Berlioz. Only after both had declined it, did he approach Tchaikovsky with the idea. Although at first not inspired by the theme, the Russian composer eventually wrote a large-scale work in four movements two years later, on returning from a trip to the Alps. The first, slow movement describes the protagonist’s world-weariness and love-sickness as he wanders in the mountains, while the second is a light scherzo portraying the appearance of a fairy in the rainbow of a waterfall. In the third movement, Tchaikovsky evokes the simple, free existence of the mountain-dwellers. Finally, in the fourth, Manfred finds himself in the midst of a subterranean bacchanalia, at the climax of which his fate awaits him. Rachmaninoff’s popular Piano Concerto No. 3 will be performed this evening by the 32-year-old Kirill Gerstein, regarded as one of the most talented representatives of the latest generation of pianists. The Voronezh-born musician completed the majority of his schooling in the United States, but also spent time studying under Ferenc Rados in Budapest. Since he won first prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv in 2001, he has been invited to play as a guest soloist with the most prestigious symphony orchestras in the US, Japan and Europe. Presented by: Concerto Budapest
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
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