For the fifth time, the Dohnányi Academy is organising its Conducting Masterclass, during which conductors from all over the world will develop their skills under the guidance of the Master Class Director, Gábor Hollerung, and with the contribution of BDO. Participating conductors will have the opportunity to present what they have learnt in a concert at the end of the Masterclass.
The Wooden Prince was perhaps the first work in Bartók’s oeuvre that found its way to a wider audience. It also stands for an important final moment in the Romantic period, as it is perhaps the last one in the series of preceding and successive theatrical works in which the composer was able to formulate an organic ending that evokes a positive feeling in the audience. Just as Bartók’s Bluebeard articulates the irresolvable difference between man and woman, and the universal, eternal darkness of their relationship, so in The Wooden Prince the sacrifice and renunciation for each other resonates in the hope for a happy love. Today’s concert features the suite by Bartók.
Grieg, the best-known composer of Scandinavian national Romanticism, composed his Piano Concerto in A minor, one of the most popular pieces in the Romantic concerto literature, in 1868, when he was only 25 years old. The concerto is often paired with Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, which also has three movements. Moreover, Grieg was actually familiar with Schumann’s work. Besides Schumann’s music, Grieg was inspired by Norwegian folk music during the composition of the concerto, and imitations of Norwegian folk dance and folk musical instruments can also be found in the piece.
Today’s concert will end with one of Beethoven’s best-known works, Symphony No. 5, the opening motif of which was commented by the composer himself as follows: ‘This is the sound of fate knocking at the door’. The symphony itself depicts the desperate struggle of man and the ultimate triumph of human will.
