The key of C minor was Beethoven's "Storm and Stress" key, that of some of
his most dramatic and heroic works, such as the Fifth Symphony and the
"Pathétique" Sonata. Composed around 1800, this conceto displays an
emotional intensity that marks it as one of the first of Beethoven's mature
and individual major works. As if to show that the keyboard was too narrow
for his ideas, Beethoven rewrote some of the piano part in 1804 to
incorporate the extra notes that had been added to the keyboard in the
first years of the century. The simple but assertive opening theme of the
first movement is treated with bold imaginativeness. The Largo sets the
stage for a true dialogue between the piano and the orchestra, which
culminates in the almost aggressive earnestness of the Rondo.
Soloist Maurizio Pollini is one of the most distinguished pianists of our
time, who has performed with the world's leading orchestras. A committed
advocate of contemporary music, Pollini frequently performs works by
Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen. However, he has
also given complete cycles of the Beethoven sonatas in Berlin, Milan, New
York, Munich and other cities. On the occasion of a performance of the
Beethoven concertos at New York's Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra presented him with its "golden ring", a rare distinction awarded
to only few musicians.
