In the varied landscape of 20th-century of European music, Béla Bartók is one of the most complex figures, who deserves the attention of the public and the admiration of musicians, both for the musicology papers and for his work that combines imaginative melodies with well-calculated structures, thus forming perennial opposites, which will invite many generations of music lovers to the concert hall. Certainly, these were only some of the arguments on the basis on which the concert on Friday, February 2nd, at the Elbphilharmonie, was proposed. We will be able to listen to it live on the frequencies of our station.

The principal conductor of the ensemble, Alan Gilbert, is an artist who always offers well-argued and lively interpretations. He will conduct this program entirely dedicated to the music of the Hungarian composer, born in Sânnicolau Mare, whom Witold Lutosławski described as "a keyfigure in the music of the 20th century". The event we broadcast opens the "Kosmos Bartók" Festival, proposed by the "Elbphilharmonie" Orchestra in Hamburg and the American conductor.

The Divertismento for String Orchestraopens the evening's program. It is radiant and lively, a paper where we observe a composer who knows when to follow the rules and when to break them, with the discerning of a maestro in European compositional art - a title that Bartók certainly deserves fully.

Piano Concerto No. 3 is one of the final masterpieces in the repertoire of this great composer. From a stylistic point of view it is obviously unitary, but like many works of exceptional value, in the unique, identifiable imprint of the author, we can recognize echoes from the maestros of the past; here, a careful listener can distinguish influences from creators such as Richard Strauss or Claude Debussy, among others. If as Isaac Newton, Béla Bartók had seen beyond, standing on the shoulders of the giants, we can enjoy his artistic vision, the music he composed being congruent with the hustle and bustle of contemporary life. Igor Levit will be the one who will translate the solo part composed by Bartok into the sonorities we expect in a live broadcast from Hamburg on this Friday, February 2nd.

The temptation to systematize, a constant in the European music of the last century, was not foreign to Bartók. But the academic music he composed was not added to the program of this concert. The organizers opted for more accessible papers - thus, the evening ends with the already famous Concerto for Orchestra. Seemingly oxymoronic, the title marks the virtuosity required to perform this work, each part being treated in a manner suitable for any soloist.

Therefore, these are the highlights of the concert that we broadcast on Radio România Muzical this Friday, February 2nd, starting at 9.00 PM. It is a concert that takes place under the auspices of the European Stage programme, through the European Radio Union - an event that bears the signature of some musicians of international renown, being entirely dedicated to the music of Béla Bartók.