Johann Georg ALBRECHTSBERGER: Sei sonate – Sonata terza in a, Opera X.
Joseph HAYDN: Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hob. I:87
Johann Nepomuk HUMMEL: Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, S. 49
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Johann Georg ALBRECHTSBERGER: Sei sonate – Sonata quarta in e, Opera X.
Johann Nepomuk HUMMEL: Mass in D minor, Op. 111

Gábor Boldoczki trumpet
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)

Conductor: György Vashegyi

The first concert of the Ferencsik season ticket, which explores the Viennese classical style, represents the greats in the personage of Haydn and his Symphony No. 87 in A major, and the lesser known masters in two works from Sei sonate emanating from the workshop Albrechtsberger, a contemporary of Haydn, and the Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major and Mass in D minor written by Hummel, who was 8 years younger than Beethoven. The evening’s composers all knew and respected one another: Hummel took lessons from both Haydn and Albrechtsberger, while Albrechtsberger was a supporter of Beethoven and a friend to Haydn and Mozart. At this concert, we will therefore get a sense that the Viennese classical composers were all part of a large family. The National Philharmonic Orchestra and National Choir will be conducted by György Vashegyi, with the virtuoso trumpet player Gábor Boldoczki as soloist.

In keeping with the philosophy of the Ferencsik season ticket, the first concert in the series – like those that follow – draws from the works of the Viennese masters, but it was an important consideration for those compiling the programme that Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven should not be the only composers featured and we should also encounter music by the lesser figures in their intellectual vicinity. At the heart of the 15 October concert is Haydn’s Symphony No. 87 in A major, one of his later symphonic works, and the evening concludes with another large-scale composition, Mass in D minor by Hummel (1778–1837). Eight years younger than Beethoven but outliving him by a decade, the composer and piano virtuoso began his career as a child prodigy much like Mozart; his talent was so highly regarded by Wolfgang Amadeus himself that he took on his tuition free of charge. Haydn was also a master to Hummel, while he was connected to Beethoven by friendship, meaning that he was connected to all three Viennese classical-era composers, although his own output crossed over into Romanticism. He was also a master to Haydn’s contemporary Albrechtsberger (1736–1809), whose work the concert programme offers a sample of in the form two pieces from his Sei sonate – Six Sonatas series. The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Hungarian National Choir will be conducted by György Vashegyi, with the soloist for Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major named as Gábor Boldoczki, one of the finest brass players of our time.

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As in previous years, the 2025/2026 Ferencsik season ticket is aimed primarily at lovers of the Viennese classics. Once again it, offers a wealth of enriching experiences. From Joseph Haydn, we will hear the Symphony No. 87 in A major, the Notturno No. 5 in C major, the “Clock” symphony and the Violin Concerto No. 4 in G major. The works by Mozart to be played include the Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major and, on the penultimate evening of the subscription, an all-Mozart programme consisting of the overture to Don Giovanni, the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, the “Great” Symphony No. 40 in G minor, with the “Linz Symphony” featured on the final night. Representing Beethoven on the programme for the third concert will be his Second Symphony.

Interspersed among these greatest of composers will be lesser-known ones who spoke the same common musical language of the time. It is in this spirit that we will also hear music by Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, as well as pieces by the English composer William Boyce, who hails from the same generation as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Sweden’s Joseph Martin Kraus, born in the same year as Mozart. The final concert expands the focus into the 19th century with the oboe concerto that the Italian Antonio Pasculli based on themes by Donizetti, as well as Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture and Fifth Symphony.

This season ticket brings to the stage such instrumental soloists as the trumpet wizard Gábor Boldoczki, horn player László Gál Jr, the outstanding French violin virtuoso Chouchane Siranossian and the pianist Mihály Berecz, with a chance at the last concert for us all to enjoy François Leleux not only conducting, but, as usual, also playing his oboe. In addition to György Vashegyi, who will take the podium for two of the concerts, we will also get to meet some other excellent conductors specialising in early music like the Australian Benjamin Bayl and Italy’s Andrea Marcon.