Schumann’s Piano Concerto

Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto remains one of the most inward and poetic concertos of its era. Rather than pitting soloist against accompaniment for the sake of flashy virtuosity, Schumann weaves the piano into a continuous conversation with the orchestra, full of tenderness, impetuous joy, and shared meaning. Pianist Mao Fujita approaches this expressive terrain with a quiet intensity that offers “radiance both dazzling and mellow” (Bachtrack) to his interpretations. Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Petr Popelka leads the orchestra in a second half that features musical storytelling on a more dramatic scale. Liszt’s Les préludes unfolds as a series of sweeping transformations—from pastoral calm to heroic struggle—showcasing the orchestra’s ability to shift color and character. Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite pushes that theatricality to an extreme with jagged rhythms, searing brass, and relentless momentum drawn from a scandalous ballet score.