Budapest Festival Orchestra - Iván Fischer

It is true that the Czech Dvoràk went to try his luck in America. And the Hungarian Liszt was a European before the concept even existed. Nevertheless, both their roots were thoroughly Eastern European. The degree to which Yvan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra are able to penetrate to the heart of a work makes them preferred performers of music rooted in the world of Eastern European sensitivities. For this concert they chose Dvorák's Eighth Symphony, written during a carefree time spent at the village of Vysoka. He filled most of the late 1880s with agreeable journeys on which he was subject to a wide variety of European influences. This symphony therefore has a relaxed feel and takes nature as its delightful inspiration. A pause for breath before the great crossing to the New World. Fischer and his orchestra also choose two works by Liszt. 'Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo' was written for the centenary of Goethe's birth, as an introduction to his drama Torquato Tasso. This production was first performed at the court theatre in Weimar, where Liszt was the Kapellmeister. This symphonic poem is full of romantic emotion, complete with Leitmotiv - not only does noblesse oblige, but so does being a Wagnerian! The 'First Mephisto Waltz' is not based on Goethe's Faust, but on a poem by Nikolaus Lenau, which Liszt expanded into an impassioned composition inspired by both human yearnings and religious principles.