Christmas concert - ​Tchaikovsky / Rachmaninov // Balázs / Keller

It is now traditional for András Keller and his Concerto Budapest ensemble to offer a Tchaikovsky-themed concert around Christmas time, and just as traditional is the inclusion of a work by another composer in these programmes. Leading up to the excerpts from the Nutcracker, truly indispensable at this festive time of year, we will hear not only the din of battle in the 1812 Overture as it celebrates the victory over Napoleon’s Grande Armée and a scintillating summary of Tchaikovsky’s impressions of Italy in Capriccio Italien, but also one of the greatest piano concertos ever written, courtesy of Sergei Rachmaninoff. His Piano Concerto No. 3, which begins with such a famous and captivating motif, demonstrates Rachmaninoff’s virtuosity as both a composer and performer, since the composer tailored the solo part, which places extraordinary technical demands on the pianist, to his own abilities. In that role this evening will be Kossuth Prize-winner János Balázs, who has been gifted with impressive manual abilities worthy of the work.