In the year that celebrates Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday, the full performance of his piano concerts reminds us that the composer was also a great pianist. In 2012 António Rosado had already performed the integral of Beethoven’s (thirty-two) piano sonatas. He now joins the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa to face yet another challenge.
One of the aspects that best distinguishes Beethoven’s music is the impression that it is never restricted in a recreational function, nor in the apparatus of technical dexterity. It presents itself as an expression of ideals, suggesting a privileged relationship with the world and with posterity. It became universal. So much so that it is possible for us today to contemplate it with the ascendancy and familiarity of an ever-present voice, despite having more than two centuries of existence. This resolute aura of Beethoven’s figure, however, corresponds to the interim period of his career, announced by the Eroica Symphony. His five concerts for piano allow us to follow the creative path that took him there. The first three belong to an earlier phase, when Haydn and Mozart’s references were a model for building an identity; the latter two reflect in a more evident way the impetus and boldness that have become his “brand image.”
Programme
Wednesday, October 27, 21h
L. v. Beethoven, Concerto para Piano e Orquestra N.º 1, Op. 15
L. v. Beethoven, Concerto para Piano e Orquestra N.º 4, Op. 58
Friday, October 9, 21h
L. v. Beethoven, Concerto para Piano e Orquestra N.º 3, Op. 37
L. v. Beethoven, Sinfonia N.º 8, Op. 93
Sunday, October 11, 17h30
L. v. Beethoven, Concerto para Piano e Orquestra N.º 2, Op. 19
L. v. Beethoven, Concerto para Piano e Orquestra N.º 5, Op. 73, Imperador
