Ever since, she has been on the roster of a leading independent record label. For this performance, she will play a concerto in which the piano is joined by the trumpet as a solo instrument. The trumpet part, which underlines the humorous and sarcastic nature of the work, will be played by the orchestra’s outstanding principal trumpeter László Tóth.

As an introduction, the orchestra will play the overture to Richard Wagner’s great romantic opera Tannhäuser, in which the two spiritual seams running through the work as a whole are set against each other: the clash of transcendental faith with themes of earthly pleasure.

The latter are apparent in the vibrant, vision-like central portion, the orchestration of which placed this among the most modern works of its age. The second half of the evening’s concert features a large-scale “essay” by Richard Strauss, one of the key figures of the avant-garde at the end of the 19th century, who conjured sounds from the orchestra that had never been heard before.

With Also sprach Zarathustra, his symphonic tone poem completed in 1896, the composer undertook no lesser task than to summarise the most essential elements of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical treatise of the same name on the great questions of human existence. The subject provided an excellent opportunity for the 32-year-old composer to express these ideas through his own distinctive musical means, while simultaneously displaying his inimitable virtuosity in the handling of the orchestra.

Date: 12 January 2012
Time: 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Venue: Bartók Béla National Concert Hall

Wagner: Tannhäuser Overture
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 (C minor), op. 35

R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30

Featuring: Olga Kern – piano, László Tóth – trumpet
Conductor: Zoltán Kocsis

Prices: 2000, 2800, 3500, 4200, 5100 Ft"

Source: mupa.hu

Address: 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1.