Beethoven - Piano concerto No.5 "Emperor", Claudio Arrau, Sir Colin Davis

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Sir Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra





Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73 by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the "Emperor Concerto", was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil. The first performance took place on November 28, 1811, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In 1812, Carl Czerny, his student, gave the Vienna debut of this work.

This concerto is very well known, and quite popular. In October 2007 it was voted number One in the Australian Broadcasting Company's Classic FM Classic 100 Concertos.

Like the "Moonlight Sonata", the title of "Emperor" for this concerto was not Beethoven's own; the nickname "Emperor" is referred to exclusively in the English-speaking world. Its duration is approximately forty minutes.

It has three parts: I. Allegro, II. Adagio un poco mosso, III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Source: Wikipedia

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Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE (b. September 25, 1927), is a British conductor. He was born in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. Davis studied the clarinet at the Royal College of Music in London, where he was barred from taking conducting lessons owing to his lack of ability at the piano. Nonetheless, he formed and often served as conductor of the Kalmar Orchestra with fellow students.

In 1952, Davis worked at the Royal Festival Hall, and in the late 1950s conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni, at the Royal Festival Hall in 1959. A year later, he stood in for Thomas Beecham in similar circumstances in Mozart's The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne .

Source: Wikipedia

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