Sir András Schiff performs Beethoven’s dramatic Piano Concerto No.1 on a stunning model of a historic 1822 fortepiano. Schiff describes Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 from 1795 as “absolutely huge in its concept for that time. I've always thought that there's something Shakespearean about Beethoven in the way comedy, tragedy, drama, and tenderness are all present at the same time.” Filmed in black and white, this concert is a beautiful showcase of craftsmanship and musicality. Schiff sits at a period-accurate recreation of a historic 1822 fortepiano crafted by Conrad Graf. He is joined by The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for a captivating, historically informed, performance. This concert was filmed on 6 June 2022 at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. As a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.