Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

In keeping with the philosophy of the Ferencsik season ticket, the first concert in the series – like those that follow – draws from the works of the Viennese masters, but it was an important consideration for those compiling the programme that Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven should not be the only composers featured and we should also encounter music by the lesser figures in their intellectual vicinity. At the heart of the 15 October concert is Haydn’s Symphony No. 87 in A major, one of his later symphonic works, and the evening concludes with another large-scale composition, Mass in D minor by Hummel (1778–1837). Eight years younger than Beethoven but outliving him by a decade, the composer and piano virtuoso began his career as a child prodigy much like Mozart; his talent was so highly regarded by Wolfgang Amadeus himself that he took on his tuition free of charge. Haydn was also a master to Hummel, while he was connected to Beethoven by friendship, meaning that he was connected to all three Viennese classical-era composers, although his own output crossed over into Romanticism. He was also a master to Haydn’s contemporary Albrechtsberger (1736–1809), whose work the concert programme offers a sample of in the form two pieces from his Sei sonate – Six Sonatas series. The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Hungarian National Choir will be conducted by György Vashegyi, with the soloist for Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major named as Gábor Boldoczki, one of the finest brass players of our time.