Mazzola, Stančul / Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Dvořák

Felix Mendelssohn composed his Piano Concerto No. 2 during his honeymoon in 1837. Unlike the Piano Concerto No. 1, which was fuelled by youthful and tempestuous infatuation, albeit ultimately unfulfilled, the Concerto in D minor reflects the mature Mendelssohn, who is perfectly at ease in terms of relationships and music, a composer in full bloom. In his Piano Concerto No. 2, Mendelssohn, who despised the virtuosity of the young Franz Liszt for instance as mere acrobatics without substance, launched a keyboard fireworks display that sent the musical sparks flying. The work, far too seldom heard, will be interpreted by the exceptional Serbian pianist Jasminka Stancul. The conductor will be another close friend of the Orchestra: Enrique Mazzola, who has already demonstrated how closely he feels attached to the work of the early romantic when directing Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Musikverein concert hall two years ago.