“I regret most that I have to leave with a suitcase full of music,” said Béla Bartók in the final year of his life. Even in the United States, the composer continued to work tirelessly, composing, among other works, his Piano Concerto No. 3, dedicated to his wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók. Owing to its unusual gentleness and delicacy, the piece has since often been referred to as a “women’s concerto.” Pianist Zoltán Fejérvári has a special affinity for this brilliant work, having won the 2017 Montreal International Piano Competition with it.
Another masterpiece from Bartók’s final years is the monumental Concerto for Orchestra. The evening’s conductor is Tokyo-born, US-raised Scott Yoo, music director of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and host of the Emmy-nominated classical music television series Now Hear This.
Photo: Zoltán Fejérvári © Balázs Böröcz
