Vojciech Kilar’s Orawa and Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor represent exciting chapters in 20th and 19th-century Polish music, respectively, and Dvořák’s New World Symphony is a timeless audience favourite of Czech Romanticism. The lavishly virtuosic Ingrid Fliter found her way into our hearts as a protégé of Kocsis’s, and for Krzysztof Urbański, the programme’s Polish component is his mother tongue. Massenet’s Werther, a masterpiece of French Romanticism dealing with a German source subject, is a special treat: this full-evening opera production on the orchestra’s calendar will bring international stars like Tassis Christoyannis, in the title role, to the stage under the baton of György Vashegyi, who is particularly at home in the French opera repertoire. The presence of the American Lawrence Foster will give us a chance to welcome one of the great globally respected conductors of our time. His concert programme consisting of works by George Enescu, Miklós Rózsa and Tchaikovsky will satisfy the needs of gourmets and lovers of classical musical hits alike, while the two soloists, Kristóf Baráti and István Várdai, guarantee a standard worthy of a conductor of Foster’s rank. The appearance by flute marvel Emmanuel Pahud conducted by Gábor Káli brings an assortment of French musical delicacies – the second half of the programme features Berlioz’s singularly popular Symphonie fantastique, preceded in the first part by rarities by Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, Camille Saint-Saëns and Cécile Chaminade.

With the emotionally charged Carlo Montanaro on the podium and international star singers interpreting the roles, Verdi’s Il trovatore promises fervent moments, while Sergei Krylov’s bravura violin skills and the formidable conducting of Róbert Farkas at the orchestra’s Italian-centred concert of works by Cherubini, Paganini and Mendelssohn is certain to brim with sensually atmospheric Mediterranean moods. The highly knowledgable and profoundly intense Austrian organist/conductor Martin Haselböck is just as at home with early music as he is with the oeuvre of Liszt, so it can hardly be a surprise that he will be conducting Haydn in the first half of his concert before moving on in the second to present a work by the great Hungarian Romantic that has never before been heard here in his homeland, in collaboration with the outstanding young soprano Réka Kristóf. And what about the diversity? Appearing at the last concert on the season ticket will be the world-renowned oboe virtuoso François Leleux, not only as a master of his instrument (not to mention one performing a transcription of Mozart’s opera arias), but also giving us another chance to admire his conducting skills in symphonies by Mozart and Schumann. 

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E-flat major, Kodály’s Peacock Variations and Te Deum, Schumann’s Manfred Overture, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, Brahms’s Piano Concerto in B flat major, which premiered in Budapest, Richard Strauss’s Don Juan and Horn Concerto No. 1, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. The two pianists are the great Ikuyo Nakamichi and the extraordinarily talented young Hungarian Mihály Berecz. The song cycle will be performed in the beautiful baritone of Christian Immler, who has a truly refined performance style. The woodwind concerto will be performed by one of the finest horn players of our time, Stefan Dohr, while the very finest Hungarian vocalists will sing the solos of Kodály’s Te Deum. The three concerts will feature three pre-eminent Hungarian conductors. János Kovács, György Vashegyi and Gergely Kesselyák have very different personalities, yet all three of them conduct with enormous proficiency, and each of their shows is sure to captivate the audience.

Such as Respighi’s Antiche arie e danze and Endre Szervánszky’s Flute Concerto – once premiered by the orchestra – László Lajtha’s Suite No. 3 and Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy arranged by Liszt for piano and orchestra, Haydn’s special yet rarely performed passion The Seven Last Words of Christ, and Glazunov’s fantasy From Darkness to Light, while Franck’s popular’s Symphony in D minor, Schubert’s Incidental Music to Rosamunde and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture are always an essential experience. In two of the concerts we can enjoy Hungarian conductors who have achieved much success abroad in the form of Gergely Madaras and Gergely Vajda, while the second evening will see the superb young Israeli talent Nimrod David Pfeffer take to the conductor’s podium. Noémi Győri is a virtuoso flautist, while Gertrúd Wittinger is not just a fine leader of the soprano section in the Hungarian National Choir but an experienced and gifted soloist, too. The pianist American-Hungarian Peter Klimo is one of the greatest discoveries of the Bartók World Competition in recent years, while the cultured actor Tamás Dunai has already worked as a narrator and intellectual collaborator for numerous productions by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

This season, the spotlight will shine on some unique delights, including Bruckner’s ambitious Te Deum and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, which offers a thrilling taste of Slavic flavours, and Schumann’s poignant, ambitious oratorium, Paradise and the Peri, which only rarely features on concert programmes, as well as Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri. The choral programme will also be distinctive, with an encounter between the works of American, English and Argentinian composers that will create a magical blend of love, religion and dance. This season ticket is full of discoveries, and the Hungarian National Choir and National Philharmonic Orchestra will be led by conductors of the calibre of János Kovács, Attilio Tomasello, Jack Apperley – winner of the Hungarian National Choir’s international choirmaster master class course – and the Hungarian National Choir’s very own choirmaster, Csaba Somos. The two great ensembles will be joined by a wide range of diverse, world class vocal soloists in the form of Polina Pasztircsák, Atala Schöck, Attila Fekete, Volodymyr Tyshkov, Klára Kolonits, Ágnes Szalai, Szabolcs Brickner, István Kovács, Gabriella Busa and Ágnes Kristófi, while we will also hear the Hungarian National Choir’s permanent pianist partner Dóra Bizják and the accordion phenomenon Mihály Demeniv in the choral works of the Dance evening.

We will how trace how a talent became a rebel, and the rebel a genius. No later period of Beethoven’s life was more exciting and tumultuous than this one of great developments and transformations, with many smashed idols and many new concepts formulated. These are concepts and principles that live on today and still influence how music is composed, and thus our everyday lives and thinking, as well. We will be researching and exploring these ideas at the inaugural concerts of Musicmania under the baton of Dániel Dinyés and interpreted by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra.