ONLINE EVENT: Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 4

This central chapter in a three-concert cycle of Beethoven’s five piano concertos performed by Krystian Zimerman with the LSO and Sir Simon Rattle features Nos 2 and 4. The Second was in fact the composer’s first full-length orchestral work and largely adheres to norms established by Mozart. But Beethoven’s distinctive voice comes through in, for example, starkly contrasting themes and unanticipated key changes. The Fourth, meanwhile, responds to the developments in the instrument itself: a wider range of notes were now available, and additional colours too, thanks to a new pedal system. The concerto’s graceful, profound and expressive writing was groundbreaking.

> Watch Concertos Nos 1 & 3 on 17 December 2020
> Watch Concerto No 5 on 21 December 2020

Photo: Deutsche Grammophon/Bartek Barczyk