Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
HAYDN - Piano Concerto in D major
BARTÓK - Divertimento for Strings
One of the most beloved concert pianists on the stage today, Emanuel Ax returns to perform a charming concerto by Haydn. This delightful work is paired with a mesmerizingly soulful piece by Béla Bartók from a century and a half later. The Divertimento's three movements unfold as a marvelous mixing together of Modern and Romantic, tinged with Hungarian sensibilities — blending chamber-like intimacy with orchestral strength, caustic bite with yearning restraint, lyricism with argumentative thrust.