Zimmermann / Liszt / Mahler

About the Event

The concert programme will open with Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Photoptosis, which was subtitled Prelude for Grand Orchestra and played a defining role in the composer's career. Written in 1968, it will now be performed in Hungary for the first time. Photoptosis is a Greek term that refers to the incidence of light and the colour changes that can be detected as a result. Naturally, when it comes to the German composer and his composition, this concept finds meaning through the medium of sound and tone, even if Zimmermann’s direct source of inspiration came from the monochrome surfaces of the walls of the lobby of the theatre in Gelsenkirchen. After the harsh, raw world of this 20th century creation comes a major shift with Liszt’s Piano Concerto in A major. Dénes Várjon will be the soloist for this ‘concert symphonique’. To close, we will enjoy another masterpiece labelled under more than one genre. At the time of its composition, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde was designated as both a symphony and an orchestral song cycle – in part because the composer was known to fear the curse of the ninth symphony. Regardless of its classification, the work – which will be performed with vocal contributions from Szilvia Vörös and Bernhard Berchtold – offers a visionary panorama of the wonder of human existence, even in moments of frailty.