Budapest Festival Orchestra

Leonidas Kavakos is a soloist considered as simply outstanding by each and every member of the Festival Orchestra. The Greek violinist has also been hugely successful as conductor; here we see this side of him. Mendelssohn wrote one of his most popular overtures at the age of 22 as a reflection on his Europe round-trip; it was specifically inspired by the breathtaking sight of the group of islands off the coast of Scotland after which the piece was named. Motifs of the Hebrides Overture, which evoke the ever-changing state of the sea, have been used in feature films, cartoons and even video games. Frenchman Gautier Capuçon is the 21st century’s ambassador of the cello, an artist who is moved first and foremost by intuition in music. He has a virtuoso, expressive and dramatic presence, yet he retains an otherworldly etherealness. He plays the highpoint of Schumann’s cello concerto, the poignant, lyrical second movement, on the brilliantly sounding Goffriller cello. Symphony No. 6 was the last symphony completed by Tchaikovsky. The first and closing movements are drenched in profound pain and sorrow, while in the middle two movements there is light dance music and an impetuous march. According to Tchaikovsky, the symphony had a ‘subjective’ programme; but the composer was never to reveal what he meant by this, a fact which has fed much speculation. Following his unexplained death, which occurred nine days after the premiere of Symphony No. 6, there was increasing feeling that actually the dramatic work constituted the ‘farewell letter’ of the composer.