MÁV Symphony Orchestra

Among performers of symphony music, there are a number of conductors who are also acclaimed instrumental soloists. There are also examples of the same artist both conducting and playing the instrument at the same recital. However, it is rarer to find the soloist performing without orchestra as a chamber musician in a part of the concert. Conductor Péter Csaba, well known as a superb violinist, does just this in order to present a rounded picture of the music of César Franck (1822–1890). Franck composed his grand opus, his only symphony and his monumental violin-piano sonata all around the same time. His compositional methods and principles apply equally in the two works: flowing, expressive melodies, exciting harmonies that constantly move and swirl, combined with a classical sense of proportion that keeps it all in check, learned as an organist from the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The musical collaboration and the friendship of Péter Csaba and his partner Márta Gulyás go back many decades.