Petronell-Carnuntum – a classic in Roman thermal baths

“Anton Bruckner in the Heiden District” was the title of a classical concert last Friday at the thermal baths in the Roman town of Carnuntum. This is the second time the Heiden district of Lower Austria has stopped at the Archaeological Park. The use of the old site as a concert hall is at least geographically obvious: the birthplace of the composer brothers Michael and Joseph Haydn in Ruhrau is less than five kilometers away.

Musically, it was not entirely clear that the romantic composer Anton Bruckner’s work was on the program for the first time in Haydn’s Sixth Concert Season: the “String Quintet in F major”, which is considered to be his most comprehensive and important chamber music work. Bruckner’s preference for symphonic fullness is also evident in the quintet and caused much discussion at the time.

Before the break, the audience was ready for this “heavy fare” with airy string quintets in the entertaining house music style of Michael Haydn and Gaetano Donizetti. French orchestra conductor and violinist Remy Ballot has mastered balancing music with flying colors through the “Ballot Quintet”, which was founded in 2020 and received well-deserved applause.