of such symphonic works as Respighi's Pines of Rome, Rachmaninov's Second Symphony and Beethoven's Choral Symphony No. 9. His recordings of Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 and Aurora, a collection of opera arias, feature Cura conducting the Polish ensemble. A favorite guest conductor of orchestras across Europe, he conducted a New Year's concert in Budapest to bring the year to a close. As a concert performer, José Cura has successfully integrated the roles of singer and conductor as demonstrated in his performance in the Vienna Konzerthaus in November 2002, seamlessly moving from singing arias from his new album, Aurora, to conducting the Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2. On 18 September he conducted Sinfonia Varsovia in Beethoven's monumental 5th Symphony as part of the VI European Festival in Jelenia Góra. Cura next traveled to Sofia to conduct the Bulgaria Philharmonic Orchestra on 28 September in an evening of music that included Respighi's Pini di Roma, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances and Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. In October 2003, he returned to Prague for a standing-room-only concert featuring an inspired selection of Puccini arias coupled with the 9th Symphony from the Czech Republic's most famous composer, Antonín Dvořák. Cura's final public concert of the year was in Budapest, during which the maestro led the Matàv Hungarian Symphony Orchestra in a rendition of Dvořák's 9th-recorded live and released by Cura's Cuibar label. In April 2004, Cura conducted Madama Butterfly in Warsaw. Maestro Cura also proved his versatility on the podium throughout the year 2006. In June, Cura returned to his roots to conduct two sacred works at the Miskolci Opera Fesztival in Hungary. The program, which opened with the somber beauty of Rossini's Stabat Mater, was highlighted by the conductor's interpretation of Zoltán Kodály's Te Deum. In September, Cura traveled to Plymouth, England, to conduct the Ten Tors orchestra in a Gala Opera Concert. The Maestro led his ensemble in numbers from Rossini (William Tell Overture), Tchaikovsky (Eugene Onegin), Gershwin (selections from Porgy and Bess), Verdi (I vespri Siciliani overture), and Dvořák (Hymn to the Moon from Rusalka and the final movement from Symphony No. 9). Cura traveled to Italy in December for a month-long immersion in conducting, interrupted only when he raised his voice in support of charity during the annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Concerts with the L'orchestra della Fondazione Arturo Toscanini in Busseto and Piacenza featured Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor and Symphony