Bangkok, Thailand, August 23, 2025 / TRAVELINDEX / The Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (RBSO) presents the Grand "Musical Friendship" in memory of King Bhumibol Adulyadej – a captivating evening of music on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the main hall of the Thailand Cultural Centre. This special concert is presented in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Promotion of the Thai Ministry of Culture and with the support of B.Grimm.

Under the direction of returning conductor Maestro Douglas Bostock, this concert opens with Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, featuring guest pianist Oliver Schnyder, founder of the Oliver Schnyder Trio, which released its first CD in 2013. Born in 1973, Oliver Schnyder made his Kennedy Center debut after winning the Grand Prize at the Pembaur Competition.

Since winning the Pembaur Competition in Bern (1999) and making his debuts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (2000) and with the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman (2002, Orpheum Young Soloists on Stage), he has performed in many of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, North America, and Asia. He collaborated with Maestro Douglas Bostock on the recording of Camille Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2. This concert celebrates not only the three-year friendship between the RBSO and Maestro Douglas Bostock, but also the special bond between the two artists.

The second half of the concert took us back in time, celebrating the unique friendship between Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák with Dvořák's Symphony No. 6 in D major. Their mentorship began after Brahms's Austrian state scholarship, during which he was deeply impressed by Dvořák's compositions, including the famous Hungarian Dances. While Brahms had no formal students, his support of Dvořák significantly shaped the composer's style and contributed to his legendary status. Although the Symphony No. 6 shares similarities with Brahms's Symphony No. 2, Dvořák developed a distinct musical vision and became one of the greatest composers of the Czech Romantic era.