‘Belgian National Orchestra, Schønwandt & Rana’

The young Italian pianist Beatrice Rana performs Mozart's Twentieth Piano Concerto, written in the dark key of D minor. Anti-Czech sentiment prevented the premiere of Antonín Dvořák's Sixth Symphony in Vienna, even though it was written for Hans Richter, chief conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. Growing nationalism had turned Dvořák in a few years from an acculturated German into a Czech who was too much competition for the Germanic culture prevailing in Vienna. However, after a highly successful premiere in Prague, Dvořák's Sixth Symphony quickly gained popularity in the rest of Europe. Many were charmed by its balanced blend of the modernism of Liszt and Wagner, the conservatism of Brahms and a wealth of Czech folk elements.