About the Concert

"Self-glorification", "shameless egocentricity" - Richard Strauss was repeatedly accused of having made a monument to himself in "Heldenleben". We can no longer ask him, but he probably meant it rather ironically. In a letter to Romain Rolland he wrote: "I am not a hero. I lack the necessary strength; I am not made for battle; I prefer to retire, to enjoy peace and quiet ..." Be that as it may - to this day, the young composer's sonorous and self-confident tone poem is considered a masterpiece and a challenge for the solo violin, which plays enormously difficult passages in it.
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 is also a challenge, albeit for pianists. In it, Beethoven reveals himself for the first time as a completely independent composer, free from the influences of Mozart and the superfather Haydn. For example, he allows the timpani and piano to enter into a dialogue with each other - the audience found this very perky at the time, and it is still highly effective today!