“Composing is like driving down a foggy road,” said Benjamin Britten, one of the greatest figures of English music alongside Henry Purcell and Edward Elgar. From chamber music to opera, he created numerous masterpieces and became a defining figure of British musical life already during his lifetime.
His extraordinary talent knew no stylistic boundaries: he absorbed influences from both the late Romantics and the modernists, while his heightened lyricism recalls that of Gustav Mahler. The MÁV Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death with some of his most significant works.
The evening’s soloist is the Russian-born British violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, performing Britten’s Violin Concerto. In the second half of the concert, the audience will hear one of Purcell’s stage works alongside Britten’s magnificent Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, inspired by it. The concert will be conducted by Maxim Rysanov, who is also renowned as a violist.
Photo: Maxim Rysanov © László Emmer
Benjamin Britten: Simple Symphony, Op. 4
Benjamin Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15
Henry Purcell: Abdelazer Suite, Z. 570
Benjamin Britten: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, Op. 34
