Composed in 1805, Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto broke new ground by taking an established musical form and doing something new and adventurous with it. Its long and often understated first movement gives way to two shorter and contrasting ones, making it a concerto of infinite variety, performed today by outstanding pianist Llŷr Williams.
In his symphonies, Brahms felt it was his destiny to take up the mantle of Beethoven, but was never satisfied with his efforts. Modern experts - and audiences - disagree, and the grandeur of his Fourth, which closes this concert, shows us precisely why.
