Beethoven’s first two piano concertos share an many lyric and virtuosic qualities. Concerto No. 1 in C major is expansive and richly orchestrated with a wonderful slow movement that is tender, and a finale full of inventive humor.
The Concerto No. 2 in B flat major combines energy with elegance, reserving poetic breadth for its slow movement and the quirky wit for the finale.
Also included is the jovial Rondo, WoO 6, which Beethoven originally intended to be the finale of Concerto No. 2.
The conductor is Vasily Petrenko, who leads the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
Here is Krystian Zimerman performing the Beethoven Piano Concerto #1:
