István Várdai and Shai Wosner Chamber Recital A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

The cello and the piano: one the instrument most beautifully evoking the human voice, the other the mechanical pride of instrument development over centuries, and when combined perhaps the most popular pairing in chamber music. Naturally, this is equally true for the pairing of István Várdai of Hungary and Shai Wosner from Israel: two youthful instrumentalists – who long ago surpassed the station of ‘great promise’ – play as one in this refined and carefully chosen programme. In addition to core works by Beethoven and Brahms of utmost relevance in this sort of programme, there is also room for three chamber works of the 1910-1920s that have become classics in their own right. Debussy’s late (1915) cello-piano sonata recalls through its movements the typical figures of commedia dell’arte, according to the composer. Janáček’s Pohadka (Fairy Tale) written in three versions (the third version dates from 1923) tells the heroic story of the deeds of Tsar Berendyey in three movements. Zoltán Kodály composed his single-movement Sonatina in 1910 (he reworked it in 1922). The work of the composer (who had a close affinity for the cello) is characterized both by Hungarian folk music and the then modern French music, in particular the influence of Debussy.