The eldest of the great triumvirate of the Classical Period - Haydn - takes the lead in our February concert, to say nothing of the soloists collaborating with the orchestra. Although Emőke Baráth is still in the initial phase of her career, she ranks among the best in the international music scene. Neither does Mihály Berecz need a special introduction to the returning audience of Concerto Budapest, for he has proved his maturity, sense of style and sublime technique on several occasions as the guest artist of the orchestra. Besides the two soloists, the compositions' authentic period performance is ensured by the founder and conductor of the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi, who has acted as a central figure of the Early Music scene in Hungary for nearly 30 years. Alongside Haydn's two early symphonies, our audience can relish his final keyboard concerto with a lively Hungarian Rondo finale. Arianna a Naxos is also one of the master’s later pieces. At its premiere in London, the lead was actually sung by a castrato. The composition was commended by a contemporary reviewer: “It abounds with such a variety of dramatic modulations—and is so exquisitely captivating in its larmoyant passages, that it touched and dissolved the audience. They speak of it with rapturous recollection, and Haydn’s Cantata will accordingly be the musical desideratum for the winter.”