Rain date: Sunday, 12 July

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Júlia Pusker violin
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: György Vashegyi

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (1806) introduced a new intellectual dimension to the concerto genre. The composer expanded its scale and, instead of the entertaining virtuosity previously expected of such works, chose a confessional and deeply personal mode of expression. In doing so, his creation became a forerunner to violin concertos by the likes of Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Bartók and Berg. Júlia Pusker, an outstanding representative of the younger generation of Hungarian violinists, first studied at the Liszt Academy in Budapest under István Kertész and Katalin Kokas, before completing her education at the Royal Academy of Music in London under the guidance of György Pauk. The Seventh Symphony (1811/12) bursts with unparalleled energy and celebrates divine intoxication in envisioning an archaic Dionysian festival of joy and by assigning a special role to dactylic rhythm. The conductor for this evening is the Kossuth Prize-winning György Vashegyi, renowned as a specialist in historically informed early music performance, particularly Baroque opera, yet possessing truly all-encompassing interests both stylistically and in terms of genre. In addition to being founder and leader of the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra, he has served as chief music director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic since the autumn of 2022.