HEROIC. DEEP. SINCERE.

Riccardo Frizza conducts Zoltán Kodály’s oratorio entitled ‘Te Deum of Buda Castle’ between two very characteristic and representative works of symphonic programme music. Kodály’s composition was once performed in Buda Castle’s Matthias Church in honour of the 250th anniversary of the recapture of Buda from the Ottoman Empire (1686). At that time, in 1936, Hungarian scholar and musician Margit Prahács wrote that this work proved that “weeping while rejoicing is not the only ingredient of the Hungarian soul. In Kodály’s work burns the fire of monumental heroism and the primordial unity of the Hungarian worldview, where melodies richly decorated with the passion of deep and sincere faith do not break the clear contours of classical form even when such tunes are the strongest in their expression.” The concert concludes with Berlioz’s immortal work: in this piece, a young artist entangled in romantic fantasies is initially enchanted, then tormented by terrifying visions, and finally sinks into a dream world from which there seems to be no awakening. Berlioz’s work radically transformed thinking about orchestral sound, and his concept of musical dramaturgy influenced not only Liszt’s symphonic poems but also Wagner’s notions of music drama. Berlioz’s piece entitled ‘Symphonie fantastique’ is a real treat for both the conductor and the orchestra.

Presented by: Hungarian Radio Art Groups