Bach / Chopin / Tchaikovsky / Várjon / Keller

BACH Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, op. 21
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TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B minor (‘Pathétique’), op. 74

Featuring: Dénes Várjon piano
Conductor: András Keller

Officially one of the world’s most sought-after pianists, and at the same time a regular and dedicated contributor to Concerto Budapest concerts: Dénes Várjon truly does not require introduction, nor high flown promotion. The 50-year-old musician has long been a central pillar of our concert life; his artistic resilience and diversity are once again on view in this programme, as soloist of the Bach keyboard concerto modelled on a violin concerto, and then immediately after, the elegantly romantic F minor concerto by Chopin bidding farewell to Warsaw. The second part of the programme includes the final Tchaikovsky symphony as the far more extreme manifestation of the Slav soul, performed by the orchestra under the baton of András Keller, the triumphantly processional third movement of which regularly fools inexperienced concertgoers. “I definitely consider it the best of all my works. I love it as I have never loved any other of my musical offspring,” wrote Tchaikovsky of the symphony he was then engaged on, who went on to admit: “I wept more than once” while writing the piece.