Beethoven, Prokofiev & Mozart: The Piano Concertos

Beethoven completed five piano concertos in under 20 years, earning considerable amounts of money by performing them himself in concert. Celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has performed the complete concertos in 55 cities and 22 countries over the course of a four-year-long exploration of the works, which reaches its culmination at the 2015 Proms as he joins the Mahler Chamber Orchestra to perform the five concertos over three concerts (23, 24 & 26 July). Each of the concerts also features a work of Stravinsky.

Published: 23 April 2015

Beethoven:
Beethoven completed five piano concertos in under 20 years, earning considerable amounts of money by performing them himself in concert. Celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has performed the complete concertos in 55 cities and 22 countries over the course of a four-year-long exploration of the works, which reaches its culmination at the 2015 Proms as he joins the Mahler Chamber Orchestra to perform the five concertos over three concerts (23, 24 & 26 July). Each of the concerts also features a work of Stravinsky.

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major; Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major (23 July)

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor (24 July)

Beethoven Piano Concert No. 2 in B flat major; Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major (26 July)
Leif Ove Andsnes piano
Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Also during the season, Daniel Barenboim takes to the piano for a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.

Beethoven Concerto in C major for violin, cello and piano (Triple Concerto)
Guy Braunstein violin
Kian Soltani cello
West–Eastern Divan Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim piano (18 August)

Prokofiev:
For the first time ever at the Proms, Prokofiev’s five piano concertos are performed in the same concert, by three renowned pianists: Alexei Volodin, Sergei Babayan and his student Daniil Trifonov.

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major (Daniil Trifonov)
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor (Sergei Babayan)
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major (Daniil Trifonov)
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major (Alexei Volodin)
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major (Sergei Babayan)
London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev (28 July)

Mozart:
Six of Mozart’s late piano concertos are performed by a roster of starry pianists, including Lars Vogt (17 July), Francesco Piemontesi (2 August), Elisabeth Leonskaja (19 August), David Fray (24 August), Maria João Pires (28 August) and Igor Levit (2 September). In addition, Katia and Marielle Labèque play Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos (31 July).

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Lars Vogt piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo (17 July)

Mozart Concerto for two pianos in E flat major, K365
Katia and Marielle Labèque pianos
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Semyon Bychkov (31 July)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, K537 ‘Coronation’
Francesco Piemontesi piano
Aurora Orchestra/Nicholas Collon (2 August)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, K482
Elisabeth Leonskaja piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Charles Dutoit (19 August)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491
David Fray piano
Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen (24 August)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K488
Maria João Pires piano
Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Bernard Haitink (28 August)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K595
Igor Levit piano
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Peter Oundjian (2 September)