Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 with Sir András Schiff

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with the Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment. Schiff says that if he had “to choose just one Beethoven concerto, it would be the Fourth. It doesn't fit any Beethovenian cliché, like Beethoven the fighter, the wrestler, or the philosopher. It’s unique.” Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 was premiered in 1808 at an infamously long (and cold!) concert in Vienna. Its soft, lyrical opening is without precedent in the concerto genre – at once strangely calming and revolutionary. Franz Liszt, the great pianist and composer, interpreted it as a telling of the Orpheus legend. One can certainly understand why with its shadowy furies, touches of magic, and breathtaking lyricism. Filmed in black and white, this fourth concert in the Beethoven Piano Concerto series is a beautiful showcase of craftsmanship and musicality. Schiff plays a recreation of an 1822 Graf fortepiano. He is joined by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for a captivating, historically informed, performance. This concert was filmed on 8 June 2022 at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.