In the Fourth Piano Concerto, Beethoven creates a dramatic rift between soloist and orchestra by having them disagree on the main theme and even present it in different keys.
Composer Biography
Beethoven was part of the first generation to grow up playing the piano, an instrument that had only recently replaced the harpsichord and was rapidly evolving.
Performer Biography
Andrew Manze, the conductor, initially studied Classics at Cambridge University before becoming a leading specialist in historical performance practice as a violinist.
Compositional Technique
In the Fourth Piano Concerto, Beethoven radically begins with the piano alone, a departure from the expectation that soloists would wait through an orchestral exposition.
Performer Biography
Martin Helmchen, the pianist on this recording, is an Associate Professor for Chamber Music at the Kronberg Academy since 2010.
Recording & Production
The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, featured on this album, received a Grammy Award in 2011 for its recording of Kaija Saariaho's opera 'L'amour de loin'.
Composition History
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, was actually written after his Second Concerto but was published first, leading to its numbering.
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