JOSEPH HAYDN: (“La Passione”) symphony in F minor, Hob. I:49

JOSEPH HAYDN: Oboe Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIg:C1

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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K. 388

Featuring:

• François Leleux – I. oboe
• Ágnes Kubina – II. oboe
• Zsolt Szatmári – I. clarinet
• György Salamon  – II. clarinet
• Andrea Horváth – I. bassoon
• Edina Szalai – II. bassoon
• László Gál – I. horn
• Ferenc Farkas – II. horn
• Péter Kubina – doublebass

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Symphony No. 38 in D major (“Prague”), K. 504

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor and oboist: François Leleux

The outstanding French oboist and conductor François Leleux is a frequent guest of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Audiences always receive the versatility of this great musician with rapturous acclaim, enjoying the opportunity during his appearances to see him conduct the orchesta, but also joyfully lose themselves in the beauty of his virtuoso, elegant wind instrument play. Between two symphonies, the programme of the Hadyn-Mozart concert for the Ferencsik season ticket not only features Hadyn’s Oboe Concerto in C major, but also a Mozart serenade written for winds in its entirety. The performance of the piece could hardly be led by a more suitable musician than this superb oboist and conductor.

The concert will be framed through the performance of one Hadyn and one Mozart symphony. The Symphony in F minor (Hob. I:49) was composed in 1768, during Hadyn’s Sturm und Drang period. Its title, La passione, references Easter and was only added decades after its conception when it was performed in 1790 during the Holy Week in the city of Schwerin. Mozart wrote Symphony No. 38 in D major (“Prague”) (K. 504) in 1786. It was premiered on 19 January in Prague, one day after a performance of Le nozze di Figaro in the town. Just as La passione is a worthy expression of the turmoil of the Sturm und Drang period, so is the Prague Symphony one of the finest representations of the late Mozart symphony style. The two works to be performed in the central part of the programme, the oboe concerto and the serenade, provide a delightful opportunity for us to immerse ourselves in the gentle sounds of the wind instruments and marvel at their dextrous melodies. François Leleux is an excellent conductor and one of the greatest oboists of our time. He became the principal oboist of the Paris Opera at the age of 18, while Hungarian audiences have heard him perform on several occasions as a member of the world-famous wind quintet, Les Vents Français.

The four concerts of the Ferencsik season ticket invite you to enter the musical Garden of Eden made up of masterpieces of the Viennese Classical style. The music of Mozart, Haydn and Michael Haydn promises ethereal sounds. Each concert will close with a late Mozart symphony: his three final works in the genre and the ‘Prague’ symphony. While each programme features a Haydn symphony as well, we will also hear both overtures and concert arias, with Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas performing Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for violin and viola, and Petra Somlai taking on the Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (K. 467). The fortepiano refers to the pursuit of authenticity – which is also indicated by the fact that the works will be performed by ensembles smaller than a full symphonic orchestra. Two programmes will be conducted by chief music director György Vashegyi, and one by the Swiss musician Stephan MacLeod, who will also sing while conducting two concert arias, as he is an excellent bass. On the third night, we will get the chance to welcome an old friend of the orchestra, the French conductor and oboe virtuoso François Leleux, this time interpreting Haydn’s C-major concerto for the instrument.