FABIO LUISI CONDUCTS

YEFIM BRONFMAN PIANO

BEETHOVEN

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major 

BEETHOVEN

 Symphony No. 8 in F major 

Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto, composed over almost a decade, was premiered at a Viennese charity concert in 1795 for the welfare of musicians’ widows and orphans. While the witty first movement and lyrical slow movement are solidly Mozartean in color, tone and form, the rollicking finale is filled with gypsy tunes that allowed Beethoven, who was the conductor and soloist at the premiere, to show off his chops at the piano. Beethoven’s 8th symphony is a sophisticated reanimation of classical symphonic concepts with extreme dynamics and brilliantly expressive sections that would be echoed in the music of Robert Schumann decades later.

“Bronfman is well known as a powerhouse pianist with a tone of crystalline clarity. When he turns the volume down, each note stands out like a perfectly shaped pearl. When he doesn’t, look out. You might get hit by flying chords.” - Los Angeles Times