Beethoven / Bruckner

Countess Anna Louise Barbara Keglevich, familiarly called Babette by her friends, was lucky enough to be a student of Ludwig van Beethoven. His first piano concerto is dedicated to her. It was probably premiered by Beethoven himself at his first public concert in Vienna in 1795. The famous conductor Hans Richter was responsible for the first complete performance of Anton Bruckner's fourth symphony in 1881. Until then, only the first part of the symphony, which was subtitled Romantic because of the opening horn solo, was performed. We learn from his letters that Bruckner wrote the symphony with a vision of the program. The French horn announces the coming of the day, the second part is a song, like a prayer, the third part brings hunting motifs. The composer managed to revise the work several times between 1874–1890, and at least seven versions are known.

The Austrian conductor Ralf Weikers studied at the Anton Bruckner Conservatory in Linz with the legendary Hans Swarowsky. He will be presenting himself to the Bratislava audience again, almost exactly three years later. The young Czech pianist Robert Bílý returns to Bratislava after winning the J. N. Hummel International Piano Competition last year.