Two giants of Russian music meet on one concert programme. It is not often that the two are paired thus, as they were driven by separate aesthetic ideals. While one composed in Tsarist Russia, the other wrote in the Soviet Union of Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev. Under the direction of an internationally renowned conductor specialising in Russian music, the first half of the concert features a popular hit of the classical music repertoire, while the second half presents a work that is performed... only rarely. Tchaikovsky was one of the most highly cultured of composers and was always seeking out new directions for his audience. He was strongly influenced by Bizet and Mozart, and the Serenade for Strings – which he completed in 1880 – is the finest in his body of neoclassical works. With its lyrical sensibility, graceful melodies and restrained, concise form, the work is rooted firmly in the 18th century. Premièred in 1962, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 is difficult to classify generically as it could also be described as a song cycle or cantata: each of the five movements is a setting of a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko to music. It gained its distinctive name Babi Yar from the poem of the same name written in memory of the approximately 34,000 Ukrainian Jews murdered during a 1941 pogrom at the location near Kiev, which begins with the line: “No monument stands over Babi Yar.” Through the poems it contains, the music focuses not only on Soviet anti-Semitism, but on other aspects of life in the Soviet Union (Humour, In the Store, Fears, and Career). This was the sharpest criticism of the existing regime Shostakovich would express publicly in his lifetime – and it caused him no little inconvenience. Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic
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.
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