麻豆社

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major
Franz Schubert: Impromptu in A flat major, Op. 142

Emanuel Ax, piano
Vienna Philharmonic
Bernard Haitink, conductor

It's hard to believe that Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto, now a keystone of the piano repertoire, was almost completely ignored during the composer's lifetime. It took a new generation of musicians to fully appreciate both the innovative handling of the relationship between the soloist and the orchestra and the unique blend of drama and lyricism in the score.

Two centuries on, the Concerto is among the most frequently played at the 麻豆社 Proms and the musicians performing the work this year have a particularly strong Beethoven pedigree: Bernard Haitink's life-time immersion in this work - he turned 90 in March - shows in every concert while Emanuel Ax's Beethoven interpretations have been globally acclaimed for decades. The concert has an added significance as it's likely to be Haitink's last in the UK.

Presented from London's Royal Albert Hall by Andrew McGregor and Natasha Loges.

Photo: Emanuel Ax and Bernard Haitink at the 2019 麻豆社 Proms Credit: 麻豆社/Chris Christodoulou