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The London Symphony Orchestra plays Beethoven Symphonies No 2 and No 8

Fran莽ois-Xavier Roth conducts the LSO in two of Beethoven's most enjoyable but least played symphonies, and Bertrand Chamayou joins for Unsuk Chin's glittering Piano Concerto.

Beethoven had a habit of confounding his contemporaries. The proportions and lack of classical decorum of the Second Symphony led one critic to describe it as 鈥榓 hideously writhing wounded dragon that refuses to die', and the Eighth seemed a lightweight disappointment after the often manic intensity of the Seventh. But if there was one thing predictable about Beethoven, it was the way he consistently undermined expectation, a quality these two symphonies have in spades and which Fran莽ois-Xavier Roth so relishes.

As a foil to the Beethoven, Bertrand Chamayou joins for Berlin-based, Korean-born Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto which, she says, 'reflects the influences from every epoch of keyboard literature, from Domenico Scarlatti in the early 18th century to the present' in its own special and utterly distinctive sound world.

Recorded in March at the Barbican Hall, London, and presented by Martin Handley.

Beethoven: Symphony No 2 in D major, Op 36
Unsuk Chin: Piano Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No 8 in F major, Op 93

Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Fran莽ois-Xavier Roth (conductor)

2 hours, 14 minutes

Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No.2 in D major, Op.36

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.
  • Unsuk Chin

    Piano Concerto

    Performer: Bertrand Chamayou. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.
  • Igor Stravinsky

    Octet for Wind Instruments

    Ensemble: Columbia Chamber Ensemble. Conductor: Igor Stravinsky.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.2 No.1鈥

    Performer: Richard Goode.
    • NONESUCH.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.

Broadcast

  • Mon 6 May 2024 19:30