Magdalena Kožená and Mitsuko Uchida A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

It is a rare song recital indeed when one is unable to decide whether it is the vocalist or the pianist who holds greater promise. The partnership of Magdalena Kožená and Mitsuko Uchida is just such an occasion. Critics reporting on concerts by the two star performers simply do not know whether to extol more the virtues of the singer’s sensual sound and intellectual approach or the sensitivity, depth and refined touch of the pianist. What’s more, the recital of the mezzo-soprano and pianist – both among the greatest in their respective fields – in Budapest has a third attraction: their programme showcases rarely performed masterpieces by major composers. The concert begins with Schumann’s final song cycle, Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart, written a few years before his decline into mental illness, which relates the story of this fated women. The Debussy cycle paints a different female portrait from the poems of Ancient Greek courtesan Bilitis, the imaginative creation of Symbolist poet Pierre Louÿs. Poèmes pour Mi, dedicated to Messiaen’s first wife (the composer nicknamed Claire Delbos ‘Mi’ after the solmization syllable), is the ‘story’ of a married woman from her husband’s perspective.