kamara.hu/2 A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

The Firsts and Lasts chamber festival continues with an international star parade. The artist behind the whole concept, Dénes Várjon, won first prize at the prestigious Anda Géza Piano Competition in Zurich in the same year he graduated, while his wife, Izabella Simon, is similarly a student of the school hallmarked by the name of György Kurtág–Ferenc Rados. For this recital they are joined by violinist Kristóf Baráti who at the age of 35 was awarded the Kossuth Prize, and István Várdai, winner of both the Geneva International Cello Competition and Munich ARD International Cello Competition. And although this Hungarian team would in its own right be sufficient guarantee of quality, the production draws in further star personalities: German soprano Mojca Erdmann, famed for her honest and lavish Mozart performances, Croatian Radovan Vlatković, one of the world’s best horn players, and German violinist Veronika Eberle (26), who plays with leading orchestras and conductors. This programme could be subtitled ‘in the shadow of passing’. Schubert’s rarely performed, sombre piece dates from the final year of his life. The B major trio of Brahms, although written when he was young (aged 21), was in the same year that his great friend Schumann attempted suicide. The work of four movements by Brahms was composed for the first anniversary of the death of his mother. However, it is certain the audience will not fall into melancholy since the glittering array of talent on stage simply will not permit this to happen.