Beethoven: 5 Piano Concertos (Complete)
Beethoven - Piano Concertos
First comes the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Although Beethoven wrote it after the B‑flat concerto, this was the one he chose to present in Vienna, likely during one of his early public appearances. Its bright fanfares and surprising key changes already show a bold young composer eager to break the rules.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major was actually his first attempt at the form—composed years earlier but revised and polished for performance in Vienna. Listeners heard a clear Mozart influence, but Beethoven added his own fire and flair, especially in the sparkling finale.
By 1803 the mood turns darker with the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor. It begins with stormy chords. At the premiere, Beethoven still hadn’t written out the solo part; he played most of it from memory while the page‑turner stared at nearly blank sheets.
The Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major starts in a whisper: the piano speaks alone. In the slow middle section, the strings sound like angry spirits, and the soloist gently calms them—an episode many writers compare to Orpheus soothing the Furies.
Outside, cannon fire rattles Vienna in 1809, yet Beethoven pens the radiant Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major. Publisher Johann Baptist Cramer later crowns it the “Emperor Concerto,” but the dedication goes to the composer’s loyal pupil‑patron, Archduke Rudolph—not to Napoleon.
Tracklist:
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15:
0:00:00 I. Allegro con brio
0:17:07 II. Largo
0:27:39 III. Rondo. Allegro scherzando
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19:
0:36:46 I. Allegro con brio
0:51:06 II. Adagio
1:00:40 III. Rondo. Allegro molto
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37:
1:06:49 I. Allegro con brio
1:25:04 II. Largo
1:35:37 III. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58:
1:44:43 I. Allegro moderato
2:04:51 II. Andante con moto
2:13:34 III. Rondo. Vivace
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor Concerto":
2:24:23 I. Allegro
2:44:30 II. Adagio un poco mosso
2:53:12 III. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
All tracks performed by Shoko Sugitani, Berliner Symphoniker & Gerard Oskamp
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