Liszt Academy Series 5/2
Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra
Artistic Director and conductor: István Várdai
Concertmaster: Peter Tfirst
Solist: Roman Simovic (violin)
Programme:
Liszt: Mephisto-Waltz No. 1. for string quartet - transcription by Devich SándorShostakovich: Sonata for Violin, Percussion and String Orchestra, Op. 134 - transcription by Mikhail Zinman and Andrei Pushkarev
Interval
Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, op. 111 - performed by string orchestra
It is for the violinist Sándor Devich, one of the greatest chamber musicians of the 20th century, that we can hear Liszt's emblematic piece rearranged for strings. The professor of the Liszt Academy, twice awarded the Kossuth Prize, re-scored the piano composition for a string quartet in 1988, thereby enriching the chamber music repertoire written for strings.
Shostakovich's sonata for violin and piano was written as a gift given on the world-famous violinist David Oistrakh's 60th birthday and, of course, he played it for the first time, in 1969. According to the reviews, the welcoming piece is one of the most beautiful and successful works of the composer's late creative period, so much so that it also inspired a thrilling re-arrangement. Instead of the piano, the violin solo is embraced by the string orchestra timbre of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. With the addition of a percussion section, the sonata will be transformed into a symphonic piece of music. This re-interpreted work, which has already garnered great success in concert halls around the world, will be performed for the first time in Budapest.
The guest of the concert will be one of the star violinists of the international music scene, Roman Simovic, who has already won over fans accompanied by the most famous ensembles. He is also a guest concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra. We can get to know him in both capacities at his first Hungarian concert, directing Shostakovic's work as a soloist and Brahms' piece from the concertmaster's chair.
