Shostakovich dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 2 to his son Maxim. The work owes its popularity to the lively themes of the first movement, and the marching style of the drums, the rhythmic piano scales, the changes of tempo and the well-timed hemiolas of the third movement. The influence of Shostakovich’s appetite for the ironic even extends as far as Péter Eötvös, whose Two Monologues from his opera Three Sisters are often performed as a stand-alone piece. A great fan of Russian literature, Eötvös wrote several compositions referencing Russian culture, the best known of which is Three Sisters. Based on the Chekhov drama of the same name, the two parts of the work can be performed independently. His Two Monologues between Tuzenbach and Andrej is a composition that perfectly sums up the arcing dramaturgy and ambience of the opera. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, was one of the most controversial classical masterpieces in music history. The composition is the musical formulation of a Russian pagan ritual that has not lost any of its freshness since its Paris première in 1913, a concert that ended in violence thanks to its unique power, prickly dissonances and fiery rhythms. The remarkable richness of the score makes its performance a major challenge for any orchestra, while audiences can expect to be submerged into a mysterious world of instinct and the subconscious. Presented by: Concerto Budapest and the Palace of Arts

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