Liszt Academy Series 5/1
Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra
Artistic Director and soloist: István Várdai (cello)
Concertmaster: Peter Tfirst
Programme:
Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade
Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, op. 129
Interval
Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, op. 70
The tone is set by Hugo Wolf's melodious Serenade, first performed in 1904, followed by the only cello concerto of Schumann's rich oeuvre, with Várdai's solo. Among all cello concertos, this is one of the technically most challenging ones. It is intended as a three-movement work, but in fact, it is instead a composition of one giant stroke. The work was completed in 1850, at the close of the author's most prolific artistic period, but right until his death six years later, he kept reworking and polishing it as his most precious masterpiece.
Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence played in the second part of the evening, is one of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra's most popular repertoire pieces. The previous statement echoes in our ears: it appears on their programmes from time to time, polished and even more beautiful, and so, the result – where they complete the pure conciseness of chamber music with the experiential sound of symphonic sound – greatly impresses the audience.
