Name: Bartók Contrasts
Start: 2026-05-10T18:00:00
Location: Hessischer Rundfunk

Günther Albers

Dashiel Nesbitt

Ulrich Horn

Tomaz Močilnik

Laurent Weibel

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Two clarinet works by Bartók, imbued with the richness of Hungarian and Romanian folk music, encounter the exuberant early piano quartet by his Hungarian friend Brahms. Construction, contrast, and surprising hints of jazz meet youthful energy, romantic ambition, and the spirit of the "Hungarian Dances." Bartók's "Contrasts" was the first work with which the Hungarian exile presented himself to the American public in 1940. Commissioned by the legendary Benny Goodman, it was Goodman's jazz background that inspired Bartók to compose the piece. When Brahms once sent his Hungarian friend Joseph Joachim the score of his piano quartet with the "Rondo alla Zingarese," Joachim readily admitted that the Hanseatic composer had surpassed him on his own turf.