Programme:

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837): Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor, op. 85, Soloist: Shir Semmel (Israel)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847): Concerto for Piano, Violin & Strings in D minor, arranged for piano and mandolinca. Soloists: Jacob Reuven, mandolin (Israel) and Daniel Petrica Ciobanu, piano (2nd prizewinner of the 2017 Rubinstein Competition – Romania)
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870): Piano Concerto No.3 in G minor, op.58, Soloist: Nizar Elkhater (Israel)

The concert is composed of three rarely performed concerti: the first, Mendelssohn's concerto from 1823, written when he was only 14, already bears the signs of genius he would demonstrate later on. Mendelssohn and Chopin, two pioneering romantics, were very good friends. The second concerto, a large-scale, dramatic work by Hummel, completed in 1816, while following in Mozart's footsteps, already exhibits sprouts of romantic expression. The third concerto, by Moscheles, from 1820, is a romantic and
exciting work loved by the public in the years after its completion. Actually one might say that all three concerti were quite popular with audiences during the first half of the 19th century. Chopin scholars maintain that the Polish composer was greatly influenced by the music of Hummel and Moscheles, especially in molding the form and style of his piano concerti.