Our orchestra is nearly 210 years old, and the genre of their repertoire is represented by composers like Ludwig van Beethoven born 250 years ago. The evocation of these numbers is no coincidence. The resident orchestra of the Kodály Centre, which itself turned 10 years old in December, sends the following message to the audience: mankind has experienced numerous cataclysms in the past centuries, but symphony orchestras were active even during the darkest of times.

The double Kossuth Prize- and Liszt Prize-winning pianist Dezső Ránki interprets Beethoven’s grandiose „Emperor” Piano Concerto, which allows the soloist to perform an extraordinarily majestic and emotional solo part. The concerto’s by-name „Emperor” stands for the royal presence of the piano within the orchestra. Beethoven’s Piano Concert No. 5 in E-flat major is one of the largest scales concertos of its era. This time it is conducted by Tibor Bogányi.

As Dezső Ránki recalled in the interview made with Librarius in connection with his concert in Müpa: „I played this piece for the first time when I was twenty. Since then more than sixty times, but it gives me the same uplifting sensation on each occasion.”

Pannon Philharmonic will first perform this concert on 9 December, the memorial day of their 1811 foundation and on 10th birthday of the Kodály Centre. It was Dezső Ránki who took to the stage on the opening concert 10 years ago, thus his person connects the elated and sublime climate of the two concerts. 

9th December. A momentous date in the music life of Pécs. First, it was on this day in 1811 when the city orchestra - today's Pannon Philharmonic - gave their very first concert. The orchestra considers this date their birthday and seeks to celebrate this event with first-rate concerts. They did just that also 10 years ago, when the orchestra's birthday coincided with the first concert ever held in Kodály Centre. It was a sort of dress rehearsal before the grand opening when the building itself was in the limelight. The orchestra's birthday has again returned just like the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of Kodály Centre, only this time, the audience may not enter, and limited number of musicians can take to the stage. Thus, this feast will be unique due to the intimacy and reservedness we will honour it with. What will the orchestra give the audience as a lasting memory this time? Beethoven's The Consecration of the House overture, which was originally dedicated to a building and many a concert hall has marked their opening galas or their anniversaries with this overture. Its splendour might evoke in many of us the memory of our first settling in Kodály Centre. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E-flat major is majesty incorporated, which will clothe our hearts and minds with beauty even online, just as it did 10 years ago, with Dezső Ránki at the piano, like on this 9th December. Finally, the audience can enjoy Schumann’s Symphony No 2, which the composer wrote as a kind of remedy while convalescing from his first severe depression. The principal idea behind the symphony is the will to live, and what else could be a more timely message on such a double jubilee?

It’s been ten years since Kodály Centre in Pécs opened its doors to the audience, which greatly enriched not only the city of Pécs itself but the entire country with an emblematic concert hall. What would be a more deserving opening for a reminiscence concert if not Beethoven’s glamorous Consecration of the House overture, which was originally written for the opening of a theatre?

In The Consecration of the House Overture, Beethoven applied a wide range of tools to express pathos, while the Piano Concerto No. 5 is his last and at the same time most grandiose piano concerto. 

The Consecration of the House Overture was written to celebrate the opening of Vienna’s new Theatre in the Josefstadt. Even though this occasion did not affect Beethoven very deeply, he applied a range of composition tools to express pathos: in addition to the brass fanfares just as well as a Baroque double counterpoint quite atypical for Beethoven. The Piano Concerto No. 5 is his last and at the same time most grandiose piano concerto featuring a very elevated and emotional piano part. It is no coincidence that it was later given the epithet “Emperor”, as the piano has a majestic presence in the orchestra. 

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Consecration of the House Overture

In 1822, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was exceptionally busy writing many a grandiose composition: he had been working on his monumental Missa solemnis for a long time, on his final and - in themselves memorable - piano sonatas, and had already begun composing his Symphony No. 9, when he was commissioned to compose a piece for the upcoming opening ceremony of the Theater in der Josefstadt. It was no coincidence that it was Beethoven they had asked, as the opening production of the theatre was going to be Kotzebue’s The Ruins of Athens just like at the inauguration of the German Theatre in Pest ten years earlier, whose incidental music had also been written by Beethoven. In this way, the otherwise established piece (on the foundation of a theatre) turned into an exclusive novelty work. Although Beethoven had always been very particular about overtures (for his single opera, he had composed four overture versions), he did complete the commissioned overture by the given deadline, even being under this excessive workload and virtually deaf.

This overture stands out from the compositions written around the same time. Contrary to the others, it doesn't search for new ways but turns to the past. The slow, solemn, fanfare-like introduction is followed by a virtuoso, rapid theme based on counterpoint, which finally develops into a double-fugue evoking Baroque overtures both in form and mood. The composer excelled both in scoring and in counterpoint. Another curiosity is that as opposed to the profound and transcendentally-inclined works written in this period, this piece has no particularly deep message to convey. It alludes much more to the actual tradition and great figures of music theatre, inviting them to the new playhouse to take possession of what is built for them.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major (“Emperor”)
I. Allegro – II. Adagio un poco mosso – III. Rondo-allegro

Beethoven completed his fifth and last piano concerto in 1809-10, at around the same time as Vienna was under the occupation of Napoleon's army.  The entire political scenery of Europe had been left hanging in the air, and Beethoven with his revolutionary spirit saw in it a chance much rather than danger.  Its key, character and grandeur evoke Symphony No 3 (“Eroica”). Its by-name “Emperor” doesn’t refer to a specific sovereign and wasn’t added by Beethoven but by the London-based publisher of the composition, who was of the opinion that composition’s sophisticated manner, monumentality and the position of the soloist depict the image of an emperor. It has undoubtedly a grain of truth in it, and the idea inevitably occurs to us that the emperor actually stands for Beethoven himself, who was enthroned thanks to his musical revolution. This idea was not conjured up by Beethoven, however. Neither did he act as soloist at the piano concerto’s premiere, as his worsening hearing wouldn’t have allowed him to.

How does sovereignty appear? Right at the beginning, instead of the conventional orchestral introduction, the piano interrupts the orchestra and plays a passionate cadence. Only following the piano’s message can the orchestra come up with the expository material. The first movement is dramatic and monumental, dominated by passion and solemnity; there is no space for insecurity or self-doubt. The piano makes a declaration, and the orchestra responds with a propulsive echo. On occasion, it approves, at other times, it is exuberant or resounds as a choir, and now and then, it is listening attentively. The first movement takes up about half of the 40-minute long composition.

The second movement is chorale-like, and as such, it is differently elated than the previous one. Here, the emperor - whoever he might be - appears to be on personal terms with the transcendent and with the noblest secrets of existence.

At the end of the movement, the piano soloist experiments with a new theme, which will also be the theme of the closing Rondo. It was no novel idea to launch the third movement of a concerto with a solo part, but the 3rd movement of this composition already starts in the 2nd and seems to be the brainchild of the piano soloist and reinforces his dominance. The closing movement is again energetic and solemn, and puts the soloist in a powerful and compelling position, who has - despite all - a sense of humour and a good deal of playfulness.

Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major
I. Sostenuto assai – allegro ma non troppo – II. Scherzo, allegro vivace – III. Adagio espressivo – IV. Allegro molto vivace

It was first in 1844 when Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) mental state took the better of him. He had severe mood swings, suffered from depression, death anxiety, insomnia, tinnitus and memory disorders. It was in this agonising period when he started composing the symphony.  We can name three composers inspiring the work. It was around this time when Schumann became familiar with Schubert’s Symphony in C major (“The Great”), which he regarded as the benchmark of a modern symphony in several respects. He was also immersed in profound studies of Bach's music to improve his counterpoint skills. The third source of influence was, of course, Beethoven, whose symphonies showed the recurring motif of a journey from darkness to light, which was highly relevant for Schumann in the midst of his adversities. In essence, this symphony of Schumann's is a reflection of an emotional healing process. The first movement begins with a mysterious introduction, which becomes increasingly more tensed until it finally it peaks in an upward-striving principal theme. This movement is governed by this upward-moving tendency.

The second movement basically involves two trios composed in one. Besides the permanent dynamism and progress, Schumann also flashes his excellent sense of character - which we already know from his character pieces - this time, with an orchestra. The drafts of the symphony were soon finished, but the scoring proceeded only slowly because of Schumann’s illness.

There are sparks of spiritual peace and tranquillity in the third movement but often as a slow and distant ideal.

The closing movement conveys the recurring desire for and efforts to reach happiness. Also, an actual Beethoven song appears in the movement from the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved), thus also the Lied-composer Schumann emerges for a short while, although not with one of his own compositions but with a Lied from the oeuvre of the symphonist Beethoven.

All movements of the symphony contain evocations, allusions, but mostly not in Bach’s style. The composition was first performed under the baton of Schumann’s friend, Mendelssohn.