Thursday evening, November 12th, we are inviting you to listen to the London Philharmonia Orchestra's concert, conducted by Manfred Honeck, live from the Royal Festival Hall in the British capital.

The highlight of the night is going to be the exceptional soloist Emanuel Ax, an emblematic symbol of the international piano scene in the past half century, appreciated for the profoundness and elegance of his interpretations. Over the course of his career, the artist won 8 Grammy awards and earned 21 nominations for either solo or chamber recordings, known best for his discography highlights under Sony Classical, including Sonatas for the cello and piano by Beethoven and Brahms, performed alongside Yo-Yo Ma, as well as the complete Piano Sonatas by Joseph Haydn.

On the evening's program, Emanuel Ax will perform Concerto No. 25 in C major KV 503 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the signature pieces of Mozart's concertos.

Philharmonia Orchestra's program will open with the Die Flaudermaus by Johann Strauss II overture, an effervescent piece, designed to illustrate a comedy filled with mishaps, disguises, flirting and subtle satire of the 18th Century Venetian aristocracy. After Concerto No. 25 by W.A. Mozart, performed by Emanuel Ax, you will be able to witness the Elektra Suite, taken from the opera of the same name by Richard Strauss. This is actually an orchestral arrangement by Manfred Honeck, in collaboration with Tomáš Ille, which compresses Richard Strauss's opera into a half hour, whilst maintaining all the intensity of the original piece. You will, therefore, have the chance to discover the sonority of an orchestra with a truly impressive history, founded in 1945, with its first public concert in London, on October 27th 1945, at Kingsway Hall, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. In the decades that followed, other famous conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer or Riccardo Muti have contributed to consolidating the ensemble's international prestige.

Manfred Honeck, about whom The New York Times states, in an article from August 31st 2023, that "he has the capacity to make everything sound captivating and full of energy", will be at the rostrum. He was named future Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in September 2026, a mantle that he will take on in September 2028.

We invite you to join us for the concert on Thursday, November 12th, at 9:30 PM, which will be broadcast live on Radio România Muzical, where the elegance of Mozartian Classicism, the brilliance of Viennese music and the expressionist drama of Richard Strauss will converge in an exceptional sonic dialogue, under the baton of Manfred Honeck and featuring pianist Emanuel Ax.

Source: emanuelax.com / Photo: Nigel Parry