A. C. CARTELLIERI (1172-1807):
La Purificazione di Maria Vergine
J. J. RYBA (1762-1815):
Stabat Mater

Pre-Concert Talk with Aapo Häkkinen at 6.45 pm (in English)

This evening invites you to discover musical rarities by two composers whose names are scarcely known today, yet who once shaped the musical landscape of our region. The Italian–Polish composer Antonio Casimir Cartellieri died young, at just 35, but his career spanned from Berlin through Vienna to Prague; his music unites the melodic grace of the Classical-era opera with the depth of liturgical forms. Long consigned to obscurity, his works are now being brought back to life thanks to the research of the internationally renowned Finnish conductor and harpsichordist Aapo Häkkinen. Cartellieri’s oratorio La Purificazione di Maria Vergine will be heard in its first performance in Hungary in modern times. It will be paired with Jakub Jan Ryba’s Stabat Mater, a hidden gem of Czech classical music. Ryba was a remarkably prolific composer of the late Classical period, with more than fifteen hundred works to his name; Among his largest-scale works is his oratorio on the Mater Dolorosa, rich in tonal colour and emotional nuance. Joining Häkkinen and the internationally acclaimed Helsinki Baroque Orchestra are the Purcell Choir and an outstanding roster of international soloists.

The concert is part of the Prague Spring Festival.
Organiser: Prague Spring Festival
Co-operating partner: Haydneum, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra