It’s Beethoven's only Violin Concerto and one of the most beloved worldwide. Isabelle Faust performs the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 together with the Berliner Philharmoniker under conductor Bernard Haitink. The concert was held in the Festspielhaus Baden Baden in 2015 as part of the city’s Easter Festival.
(00:00) I. Allegro ma non troppo (23:43) II. Larghetto (32:38) III. Rondo. Allegro
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 for Austrian violinist Franz Clement in 1806. Its premiere was tepidly received, and for many years the work languished almost forgotten, before it was rediscovered in 1844 – this time performed by 12-year-old Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, and the orchestra of the London Philharmonic Society, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 is considered representative of Beethoven’s midlife works.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, played by the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) under the baton of Vasily Petrenko. In this August 4, 2019 concert recording from the Young Euro Classic festival in Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the outstanding virtuosity of this European youth orchestra is once again made evident. The young musicians display their mastery in a work even as demanding as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with great dynamism, and a tangible delight in performing.
‘Beethoven's Ninth as the symphony of Europe’ might easily have been the motto of this concert, in which Europe is represented in many aspects: Firstly as the European Union Youth Orchestra brings together the most talented young musicians from all of the EU’s member states; secondly because the Young Euro Classic festival – with young orchestras from all over the world – is a celebration of Europe’s classical music tradition; and thirdly since it is Beethoven's arrangement of Friedrich Schiller's poem Ode To Joy – in the fourth movement of the 9th Symphony – which in 1985 served as the template for the song that has been the European Union’s official anthem.
A chance for the audience to sing along to this European anthem is the shimmering climax of this Beethoven concert. In the concert hall as well as on the public square outside the building, the watching audiences passionately sing along to ‘Freude, schöner Götterfunken’. It’s a statue of Schiller – of all things – that looms in white marble above the singing crowds in front of the Konzerthaus on Gendarmenmarkt; a goosebump-inducing moment in which the utopia of a universal community of all people – brought to life by Schiller and set to music by Beethoven – becomes, for a moment, reality.
If you would like to experience Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as a moving and atmospheric celebration of human ideals, this concert by the EUYO is for you.
Performers: European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) Vasily Petrenko, conductor Ernst Senff Chor Steffen Schubert, conductor Miah Persson, soprano Theresa Kronthaler, mezzo soprano Norbert Ernst, tenor Leon Košavić, bass
(0:00:03) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso (0:16:50) II. Molto vivace (0:28:02) III. Adagio molto e cantabile (0:42:59) IV. Finale (1:07:18) Europe’s anthem Ode to Joy to sing along to
“Beethoven’s Ninth” is a music documentary on the occasion of the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. To this day, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is one of the most popular pieces of classical music around the world. In this 90-minute film, you will discover new interpretations of the famous Ninth, performed by passionate musicians.
Watch as Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis works on Beethoven’s Ninth with his ensemble, MusicAeterna. Or observe Chinese composer and Oscar winner Tan Dun as he creates a new composition inspired by the great Beethoven symphony. Experience first-hand the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as they interpret the Ninth, in part using instruments built by the musicians themselves. Visit a favela in Brazil, where Beethovens’s music helps people get off the streets. Be amazed as a choir of 10,000 in Japan sings the “Ode to Joy,” the final chorus of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with great enthusiasm. Learn how Paul Whittaker helps make Beethoven, who himself became deaf, accessible for deaf people. And find out how British DJ Gabriel Prokofiev performs a symphonic remix of Beethoven’s Ninth.
At the end of this musical journey, you will see that in every country on the globe, people dream of a better world in which human beings can live as brothers and sisters. In playing and singing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, this dream becomes true, if only for a moment.
A breathtaking documentary about the greatest symphony of all times.
Ludwig van Beethoven - Variations for Piano in F Major, Op. 34
From the International Piano Festival of La Roque d'Anthéron, 2004 Les Pianos de Demain: outstanding performances by young upcoming talents, including this one by pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger
Like every summer for decades, a hundred pianists from around the globe gather under the sycamores of the French Provence to delight audiences with one of the most celebrated piano festivals in the world. A unique festival diary with outstanding performances by Christian Zacharias, Yundi Li, Boris Berezovsky, Piotr Anderszewski, Stephen Kovacevich, etc. as well as by young upcoming talents.
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (dir. Iván Fischer) Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, 9 & 10 January 2014
Jan Lisiecki – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3: I. Allegro con brio
Jan Lisiecki – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3: II. Largo
Jan Lisiecki – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3: III. Rondo. Allegro
Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to release Jan Liesiecki´s interpretation of ´Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos´. The album follows Lisiecki’s acclaimed Mendelssohn concerto recording earlier this year and marks his sixth recording for the Yellow Label. The recording marks a milestone at the break of the Beethoven year 2020 and once again demonstrates that Lisiecki has long secured himself a place among the upper echelon of classical musicians.
Conrad Tao performs Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 "The Hunt" / Recorded on April 12, 2019 as part of The Greene Space’s 10th Anniversary 24-hour marathon.
Jeremy Denk: Beethoven Sonata No 29 in B flat Major, Op 106, “Hammerklavier”
WQXR's Beethoven Piano Sonata Marathon, which took place in The Greene Space on Nov. 20, 2011 featured a lineup which spanned a range of personalities and national schools. It included the flamboyant individualists Evan Shinners and Timothy Andres; the Russian powerhouses Daria Rabotkina and Natasha Paremski; and the Chinese up-and-comers Qi Xu and Yuchong Wu. Some, including Jeremy Denk, Jonathan Biss and Alessio Bax, are already boldface names on the international concert circuit; others are on their way.