Такач-Надь, Леонская: Гайдн, Шуман, Дворжак

They perform a rather eclectic program, ranging from Haydn's pure classicism to the famous "Sturm und Drang" of Schumann's piano concerto and eventually, to Dvořák's stunning post-Romanticism.

Tákacs-Nagy opens the concerts conducting Haydn's Symphony No. 104, the composer's last symphony, written in 1795 as part of the "London Symphonies" series which he started four years earlier. Schumann's Piano concerto in A Minor is played by Elisabeth Leonskaja – a disciple of Sviatoslav Richter. As a pure product of German Romanticism, it is a passionate, deep yet elegant work. Eventually, the orchestra performs Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, the composer's second best-known symphony after the "New World." With its long, lyrical, tragic and epic themes, this work displays all the composer's favourite techniques, notably the integration of characteristic motives taken from the folk Czech music.

Picture: Gábor Tákacs-Nagy and Elisabeth Leonskaja © Nicolas Brodard

Credits.