The RPO’s Principal Associate Conductor Alexander Shelley has been called ‘a natural communicator’ – and tonight he has a joyous story to tell.

He kicks off with the whirlwind energy and homespun high-spirits of Smetana’s irresistible comedy overture. He finishes with the blazing trumpets and big, sunlit melodies of Brahms’ second and happiest symphony – it was written while the composer was on his summer holidays, and you can tell!

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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Cadogan Hall 

‘The forests, the cascading Danube, the wide, open fields… this is my homeland, this wild, untamed nation!’ Franz Liszt never did anything by halves, and when he discovered the folk music of his native Hungary, his imagination caught fire. That passionate spirit blazes through this sizzling concert from RPO Associate Conductor Emilia Hoving, a celebration of untamed rhythms, endless longing and melodies that tingle like paprika. Zoltán Kodály tells the tallest of musical fairytales, and his friend Bartók toasts the foundation of the city of Budapest, throwing a chain of dances right across the Danube. But first, we’ll hear from Liszt himself – music by the greatest pianist who ever lived. No problem for our soloist, Hungarian pianist János Balázs: ‘I’m a real romantic’, he says.

János Balázs

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 3, 2027

Liszt Hungarian Fantasy: Hommage á Cziffra · Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Past events

Nov 28, 2024

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra · Cadogan Hall

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Totentanz by Liszt

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Piano in Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Piano in Hungarian Fantasy by Liszt

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

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