WKO x Rudolf Buchbinder - 65 Years of WKO

"The authority of a career spanning more than 60 years uniquely combines with esprit and spontaneity in his piano playing": this is how Rudolf Buchbinder's biography begins. The same applies to the WKO, which will celebrate its 65th anniversary in 2026! "The authority of a career spanning more than 60 years uniquely combines with esprit and spontaneity in his piano playing. Tradition and innovation, fidelity to the work and freedom, authenticity and openness to the world merge in his interpretation of the great piano literature." This is how Rudolf Buchbinder's biography begins, and the same is true for the WKO, which will celebrate the 65th anniversary of its founding in the autumn of 2025. It is a great joy and honor that Rudolf Buchbinder will celebrate with us! As a prelude to this anniversary concert, Risto Joost has chosen the Concert Overture No. 1 by the French composer, pianist, and musicologist Louise Farrenc. Just as Buchbinder and the WKO share a special relationship with the Schumanns and Johannes Brahms: Robert set a very high bar for the self-critical Brahms with his announcement of a musical "Messiah," while Clara was always a confidante on the often rocky path to the completion of his works. Her pianistic abilities also underpin her husband's piano concerto, which emerged as his personal "interim step" on the way to the symphony and has since become the epitome of the romantic piano concerto. Like Schumann, Brahms struggled with his symphonic debut – for him, due to the overwhelming presence of Beethoven's symphonies, a "matter of life and death." The result was powerful music that connects to classical tradition but speaks a unique, personal language. For Risto Joost, this is an opportunity to plan a cycle featuring all four symphonies by Johannes Brahms, with this concert serving as the kickoff.