Complete Beethoven’s piano concerto

Repertoire

Performers

Programme notes

Beethoven was a great pianist. In fact, he was an exceptional pianist, perhaps the best of his time. He fought a “piano duel” with the best and always came out with his head held high and with the admiration of the public and his rivals: “This man must be possessed by the devil!”, “He has a brilliant style, but his manners are arrogant ”,“ There is something wonderful in his expression ”.

The Viennese public constantly demanded spectacle and virtuosity (little had changed since the time of Mozart) and Beethoven satisfied them with five concerts for piano and orchestra composed over 15 years. Concerto No.2 is the one he had written and premiered first (in 1795), but he published second. It is the most classic of the five, the least daring, but it served him to present himself to society as a concert performer and prove that he was already an undisputed virtuoso at the age of 25.

Concerto No. 3 was released in 1803, when Beethoven’s deafness was already evident, but it still did not prevent him from interpreting his works. Concerto N0. 4, released in 1808, marks the end of Beethoven as a performer, this last appearance before the public. Some critics of the time considered it “the best he has ever composed” and some, such as the musicologist Emil Ludwig, have described it as “the most perfect concerto for solo instrument and orchestra ever written.”