Get a free album when you join our newsletter. Sign up
Cover: Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concertos 1 & 5

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Concertos 1 & 5

Royal Northern SInfonia
Lars Vogt, piano and conductor

ODE 1292-2 · CD · May 2017

Buy / listen

Track listing

6 tracks · 73:20

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

Ludwig van Beethoven

  1. Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 36:18
  2. 1 I Allegro con brio 17:37
  3. 2 II Largo 10:09
  4. 3 III Rondo. Allegro 8:32
  5. Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" 37:02
  6. 4 I Allegro 19:39
  7. 5 II Adagio un poco moto 7:14
  8. 6 III Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo 10:09

About this recording

Lars Vogt continues his Ondine recordings with a new cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos. Conducting the Royal Nothern Sinfonia from the keyboard Lars Vogt shows the brilliance and the beauty of these two majestic works of the classic piano concerto literature.

Beethoven made an early reputation for himself as a keyboard player. Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 5 feature two opposite sides in Beethoven’s career: the 1st concerto is a masterpiece by a young composer in his 20s who is already looking into new dimensions of musical expression. Although it was his first published piano concerto Beethoven had already made serious attemps in the genre – large part of the material to his 2nd concerto also predate the 1st concerto. The 5th concerto, commonly known as the Emperor concerto, was written between his 6th and 7th Symphonies when Vienna was under Napoleon’s occupation. During bombardment Beethoven, now 39 and increasingly deaf, had sheltered in the cellar of his brother, covering his head with a pillow against the noise of the cannons. Beethoven dedicated the work to Archduke Rudolph who had fled the city. Despite of its joyful, optimistic and hopeful character, occasionally echoes of war disrupt the work creating a strong impact. The work was premiered two years later in November 1811.

Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever “Pianist in Residence” by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician. His debut solo recording on Ondine with Bach’s Goldberg Variations (ODE 1273-2) was released in August 2015 and has been a major critical success. The album’s tracks have also been streamed online over 6 million times. Lars Vogt started his tenure as Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in September 2015.

Features

Sleeve notes in English

The artists

Royal Northern SInfonia

Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Sage Gateshead, is the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra. Founded in 1958, RNS has built a reputation for the North East through the quality of its music-making and the immediacy of the connections the musicians make with audiences. The orchestra regularly flies the flag for the region at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh Festival and further afield, last year touring to Brazil and in Europe.

Full biography

Also recommended

Johannes Brahms

The Piano Trios

Christian Tetzlaff, violin · Tanja Tetzlaff, cello · Lars Vogt, piano

ODE 1271-2D · 2 CDs · May 2015

Info & buy