A concert full of contrasts: Beethoven, Bartók and Brahms show the path from wrestling with tradition to self-confident renewal.
Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera Fidelio tells of the courageous fight for freedom and justice. The composer revised his work four times and wrote a new overture each time. In the final version, he dispensed with direct quotations from the opera and used two contrasting motifs to create a gripping atmosphere that sets the stage for the plot. Overshadowed by personal concerns, Béla Bartók composed his famous Concerto for Orchestra in the USA in 1943. In this work, he places the instrumental groups of the orchestra in the spotlight as soloists and combines folk music influences, baroque forms and modern expressiveness.
Johannes Brahms also grappled with Beethoven's overpowering shadow. His monumental First Piano Concerto emerged from initial sketches for a symphony - a work that combines symphony and concerto, makes high pianistic demands and at the same time confidently addresses musical quotations to Beethoven.
January 9 and 10, 2026
