Zugló Philharmonics Budapest A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

Former student of piano at the King St Stephen School of Music, Gábor Monostori is accompanied by the Zugló Philharmonics Budapest in tackling and taming one of the scariest beasts in the piano concerto repertoire. The première of Brahms’s grandiose, 50-minute Piano Concerto in B flat major was first performed in Budapest in 1881, with the solo part played by the composer himself, conducted by Ferenc Erkel. What is more, Ferenc Liszt was in the auditorium for the occasion; he was generous in his praise (even though he was not on friendly terms with Brahms or his music). The other work is Rachmaninoff’s second symphony, which played an important part in the youthful years of the Russian composer’s life just at a time when he lacked self-confidence: in the wake of the debacle of his first symphony, the success of this orchestral piece filled Rachmaninoff with renewed faith in his compositional powers, even though he refined it decades later. Both compositions are conducted by Gergely Ménesi, leader of the Zugló Philharmonics Budapest.