Post by erik on May 9, 2015 10:34:41 GMT -5
The fourth of Beethoven's five piano concertos is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, in a classic 1959 recording by one of America's great pianists, and one of the great conductors of the 20th century.
Beethoven: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4 IN G MAJOR, OP. 58
Although his concretizing days were rapidly winding down because of the deafness that was eating away at him, Beethoven nevertheless created five bold concertos for the piano which carried on the tradition of Mozart, expanding on what his illustrious predecessor had done twenty-seven times on his own, but requiring orchestras no larger in size than what had been done before. Evidence of this can be found in his Fourth Piano Concerto, which Beethoven composed surprisingly fast, though obviously not with the same speed and dispatch as Mozart had done his, in 1806. This particular concerto is unusual in that, in place of what we would normally think of as the orchestra introducing the theme, it is the piano soloist that does the honors. The first movement is also ample evidence that Beethoven would do for the piano concerto what he was already doing for the form of the symphony: expanding and enlarging the form (it runs an average of eighteen minutes). The Andante movement at the center of the concerto is a fairly flowing piece in E Minor, and possibly anticipates elements of Chopin’s own E Minor First Piano Concerto, but then it goes uninterrupted into the vigorous final movement; only here do more marital elements (trumpets and timpani) come to the forefront. Beethoven introduced the concerto at the palace of Prince Lobkowitz in 1807, where he managed to pull it off reasonably well, despite better than half of his hearing being gone. The Mozartean influences still inform the work (elements of the 17th and 25th concertos, most specifically), but it still remains a benchmark of the piano concerto literature, a bridge between Mozart and early Romantics like Chopin and Schumann.
Piano: LEON FLEISHER
Cleveland Orchestra/GEORGE SZELL (CBS)
Included:
Mozart: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 25 IN C MAJOR, K. 503
Beethoven: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4 IN G MAJOR, OP. 58
Although his concretizing days were rapidly winding down because of the deafness that was eating away at him, Beethoven nevertheless created five bold concertos for the piano which carried on the tradition of Mozart, expanding on what his illustrious predecessor had done twenty-seven times on his own, but requiring orchestras no larger in size than what had been done before. Evidence of this can be found in his Fourth Piano Concerto, which Beethoven composed surprisingly fast, though obviously not with the same speed and dispatch as Mozart had done his, in 1806. This particular concerto is unusual in that, in place of what we would normally think of as the orchestra introducing the theme, it is the piano soloist that does the honors. The first movement is also ample evidence that Beethoven would do for the piano concerto what he was already doing for the form of the symphony: expanding and enlarging the form (it runs an average of eighteen minutes). The Andante movement at the center of the concerto is a fairly flowing piece in E Minor, and possibly anticipates elements of Chopin’s own E Minor First Piano Concerto, but then it goes uninterrupted into the vigorous final movement; only here do more marital elements (trumpets and timpani) come to the forefront. Beethoven introduced the concerto at the palace of Prince Lobkowitz in 1807, where he managed to pull it off reasonably well, despite better than half of his hearing being gone. The Mozartean influences still inform the work (elements of the 17th and 25th concertos, most specifically), but it still remains a benchmark of the piano concerto literature, a bridge between Mozart and early Romantics like Chopin and Schumann.
Piano: LEON FLEISHER
Cleveland Orchestra/GEORGE SZELL (CBS)
Included:
Mozart: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 25 IN C MAJOR, K. 503
