In a single evening, audiences will discover the most personal and moving sides of three giants of Classical and Romantic music at the MÁV Symphony Orchestra’s concert on October 19, 2026. The program features masterpieces rich in emotion and colour, bringing together dramatic contrasts, serene beauty and deeply personal expressions of human experience.
The evening opens with Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 95 in C minor, a mature masterpiece born of the composer’s London years and his newfound artistic independence. The only symphony in a minor key among his twelve London Symphonies begins with a vigorous and dramatic struggle. Through the tension between powerful orchestral statements and gentle, lyrical responses, Haydn’s unmistakable optimism ultimately leads us to a radiant, expansive finale in a major key, which many find reminiscent of Mozart’s magnificent Jupiter Symphony.
The program continues with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, composed just two months before his death. This exquisite masterpiece, characterised by an almost weightless grace, was written for the celebrated virtuoso Anton Stadler and explores the clarinet’s uniquely expressive, singing qualities. Its famous Adagio embodies pure beauty, while the concluding Rondo, much like Papageno’s magic bells, radiates a spirit of unclouded joy.
The soloist is Darko Brlek, an internationally acclaimed Slovenian clarinettist whose remarkable career spans both musical performance and cultural management. At the age of just 26, he became the youngest director of the Ljubljana Opera before achieving international recognition as the director of the Ljubljana Festival and president of the European Festivals Association. He has received numerous prestigious honours, including the Prešeren, Bettetto and Župančič Awards. Hungarian audiences were captivated by his artistry at the Cziffra Festival in 2018.
The concert concludes with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique, widely regarded by music scholars as one of the greatest achievements in symphonic music since Beethoven. Posterity has also come to view it as the composer’s dramatic swan song: Tchaikovsky died in 1893, just nine days after its premiere. Yet the work is profoundly moving even without knowledge of its history. Its extraordinary waltz in 5/4 time and the relentlessly driving third movement give way to a cathartic, gradually fading finale (Adagio lamentoso), bringing the evening to a deeply poignant close.
The MÁV Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the exceptionally talented Georgian conductor Kakhi Solomnishvili, who, despite his young age of 36, has already established himself as a respected figure on the international classical music scene. Following his work with the Tbilisi Opera and the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra, his international career gained momentum in 2022 when he became assistant to Charles Dutoit. He has also worked with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra.
A recipient of the prestigious Tsinandali Award, Solomnishvili has served as Chief Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra since 2024. His fresh, energetic approach and profound musicianship promise to make this an unforgettable evening.
