The evening begins with Weber’s Invitation to the Dance, under the baton of the 2020 Mahler Competition's winner Finnegan Downie Dear. Orchestrated by Berlioz, this version would later inspire Michael Fokine’s famous ballet, Le Spectre de la rose. Virtuoso pianist Piotr Anderszewski then takes center stage to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. It is said that the composer chose one of his most talented students, Barbara Ployer, to premiere the piece, and that he invited his colleague Giovanni Paisiello to attend, due to his pride in both his work and his disciple. Bruckner himself gave his Fourth Symphony the nickname “Romantic” and, indeed, it is a work that fits perfectly alongside Wagner’s Siegfried or Parsifal, composed during the same period...

Piotr Anderszewski appears courtesy of Warner Classics.

Photo: Jakub Hrůša © Andreas Herzau.