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| Géza Kovács |
Chief director of the orchestra Géza Kovács said the first stop of the tour was on the Cote d?Azure, the Basilique Saint-Michel Archange of Menton which has been hosting festivals since 1951.
?We played there with our old friend Vadim Repin with whom we also performed in Potsdam last year and we were pleased to meet once again. We performed Mendelssohn?s Violin Concerto in D minor, Dvořák?s Serenade in E major, Fritz Kreisler?s Tambourin Chinois and Sarasate?s Zigeunerweisen to a candle-lit full house of some 2,500 people,? he added.
From there, the orchestra travelled to La Roque-d'Anthéron, where on the first night Zoltán Kocsis played the piano and conducted Mozart?s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G Major. The orchestra also played Liszt?s Orage in a transcription by Kocsis.
On the second night, they performed with Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky who was the soloist for Rachmaninov?s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor.
?The Russian pianist personally apologised for having cancelled a concert in Budapest last spring due to ill health and he practically offered us a blank cheque, saying that we can call him on any date and he will come to play with the orchestra,? the director said.
On the last evening, Dvořák?s Serenade in E major and Richard Strauss?s Serenade in E flat major were on the programme, while Dezső Ránki was featured as the soloist fot Bartók?s piano concertos No. 1 and 3.
The festival, established in 1981, has an open-air stage but visitors have a refined acoustic experience even in the last rows, Kovács said.
After the summer break, the orchestra will start the new season with a concert on the eve of Béla Bartók?s death, September 25. Bartók?s Bluebeard Castle will be performed featuring Andrea Szántó as Judit and Gábor Bretz as Bluebeard. The concert will also feature Debussy?s two symphonic poems Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and The Sea.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
