Aurora Music Festival – Inauguration with Misha Maisky

The Aurora Music Festival will be opened by one of the world’s most prominent names in music – cello legend Mischa Maisky. He studied under Rostropovich and has been one of the absolute foremost players of his instrument for decades. “He combines musical poetry and exquisite elegance with both temperament and brilliant technique,” said Rostropovich.

During the festival, he will perform two of the most beloved cello concertos: Dvorák’s Cello Concerto and Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1. At this opening concert, the Haydn concerto will be in focus. This piece only existed as a fragment of the theme of the first movement for 200 years. Fortunately, in 1961 a music researcher found the rest of the concerto in a collection of notation that was preserved at the National Museum in Prague.

The concert will begin in Nordic style with string music by Carl Nielsen. We will also experience one of twentieth century’s most distinguished composers: Iannis Xenakis. Naturally, a highlight will be Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge in an arrangement for string orchestra. This nearly 200-year-old piece never ceases to fascinate; many say it is one of humankind’s greatest works of art.

In association with Aurora Music Festival