photo: Szilvia Csibi

Concerto Budapest has named pianist János Balázs its Artist of the Season. On this evening, he appears in a special lineup as the partner of the Keller Quartet. The program is centered around the musical world of the early 19th century, bringing the works of Johann Strauss and Franz Schubert into focus in a unique light.

Over the years, János Balázs’s name has become almost inseparable from the legacy of the legendary piano virtuoso György Cziffra—a connection this concert will once again affirm. The program opens with Cziffra’s own paraphrase of Johann Strauss Jr.’s masterpiece, the operetta Die Fledermaus, followed by Arnold Schoenberg’s reorchestration of motifs from the ever-popular Kaiser-Walzer.

Often regarded as a pioneer of atonal music, Arnold Schoenberg frequently reworked well-known Strauss pieces familiar to Viennese audiences, aiming to introduce his own musical ideas through a more accessible and seamless transition. Whether driven by self-interest or not, posterity can undoubtedly be grateful for the many engaging compositions from this period—works that captivate audiences while requiring a smaller ensemble.

And speaking of gratitude, we must also pay tribute to Franz Liszt: without his transcriptions, and in the absence of broader familiarity, we might not be able to appreciate Schubert’s art in its proper place today. The concert features Ave Maria, and the finale, alongside Erlkönig, presents another of Schubert’s own reworkings—perhaps his most beloved chamber work, the Trout Quintet.