Even though we can’t take in our hands, we can certainly browse it and what’s more, it contains a lot more information! Please take a look at the online programme guide of the concert: https://bit.ly/musorlap_konnyek_pfz (English below)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto in C minor (K. 491)
I. Allegro – II. Larghetto – III. Allegretto
We are primarily familiar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (1756-1791) smiling face - even though one of the central elements of his ingenuity lies in his fantastic sense of drama and character, which he wouldn't only make use of in cheerful compositions. Minor keys were nonetheless an explicitly distant realm for him, especially C minor, which was regarded as the key of rage and war at the time. The mere fact that after the long series of concertos written by him in major keys, and with the Piano Concerto in D minor behind him, he also penned another piano concerto in C minor, giving weight to the composition. Indeed, even though Mozart could consider himself an acknowledged and established composer when the work was written (in the winter of 1785-86), the Piano Concerto in C minor testifies to profound anxiety and bitterness. The first movement commences with a grim chord arpeggio in unison. The piano makes a cheerless entry, and the ambiguity of restlessness and the desire of tranquillity dominate the entire movement.
The 2nd movement, launched by the soloist, is in E-flat major and is characterised by an anthem-like, solemn quality. After the dynamism of the 1st movement, a contemplative mood prevails in the 2nd, with the occasional emergence of the C minor key.
The 3rd movement was written in C minor with numerous variations following. Tradition would offer itself to match the form in bringing about a sparklingly brilliant movement in a major key, yet Mozart sticks to the minor scale. Although some of the variations are downright frisky, the presentation of the theme could turn into a funeral march. The composition closes in C minor. While avoiding a tragic ending, it does not come to a catharsis. It is no coincidence that it was a piece by Mozart that Beethoven was especially fond of. In fact, with regards to the closing movement, he supposedly remarked that he "shall never be able to do anything like that".
Gabriel Fauré: Pavane, Op. 50
We are perhaps all familiar with this melancholic dance music, as not only is it one of Gabriel Fauré’s (1845-1924) best-known compositions, it has also been keenly used for stage productions or world-music concerts. It was written in 1887, originally for the piano and optionally for a choir. Fauré himself considered it "elegant, but not otherwise important." Nevertheless, it was quite noted in its own time-period, and the composer would also play it on the piano on several occasions. In fact, shortly after the original version, he also produced a version for orchestra, which is often performed with a chorus or occasionally with a ballet, considering the fact that the pavane was originally the ceremonial dance of the Spanish aristocracy. This shared association did not only inspire dancers but connected it to the fine arts as well, evoking Hispanic landscapes and the golden age of the Kingdom of Spain in the works of several artists. Indeed, it calls forth the memory of vanished sunshine or a bygone summer.
Georges Bizet: Symphony No. 1 in C major
I. Allegro vivo – II. Adagio – III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – IV. Finale. Allegro vivace
It is Carmen that first comes to mind when we think of Georges Bizet's (1838-1875) oeuvre. French composers are rarely associated with symphonies, and until 1933, it wasn't a well-known fact at all that Bizet had actually written a symphony. It was namely not his choice, but Charles Gounod’s who gave it to the 17-year old(!) Bizet as a test task in the Conservatoire in Paris. Bizet did what he was asked to do, but he never once mentioned this composition in his correspondence or made any steps to get the work performed or published. Consequently, the composition sank into oblivion during Bizet's lifetime. The premiere of the symphony took place in 1935, and straight away it was compared to Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, also penned by a Romantic genius in his teenage years. It is an interesting line of thought that in the 19th century, when Beethoven's legacy weighed down composers in the genre of symphony anyway, French composers were even more impeded by the fact that no significant symphony had been written by any of their compatriots. What an expectation this young man had to live up to, especially because his 20-year older master had written his first, highly acclaimed symphony just a year before. It is even more astonishing how much Bizet conveys the impression of a well-prepared and mature composer in this piece. Albeit the composition shows some features akin to Gounod's above-mentioned Symphony No 1 in D major, it is certainly stylistically uniform, an equal to German symphonies in form, yet buoyant and melodious in a French way, endowed with a diverse and mature scoring.
The 1st movement also acts as a kind of overture or an invitation to dance. The 2nd movement is memorable for its arresting, wide-sweeping, heart-warming oboe solo. The 3rd movement is again a dance-like game of rhythm, while the 4th is a finale full of teeming life, which would also be fit as the finale of an opera and would coax a smile from the audience of tonight's somewhat gloomy concert programme. It is therefore legitimate to ask: if Bizet's first (and only) symphony turned out to be so brilliant, what would the others have been like, if the audience, having heard this symphony of his, had encouraged him to write more ...
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