Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto per Pianoforte N.5 "L'Imperatore"

The piano concerto is a prodigious invention of the human mind. Bringing the sound of the symphony orchestra to dialogue with the piano, already an orchestra in miniature, is a simple yet brilliant idea. The timbral possibilities multiply, the expressive range expands, and thematic elaboration can be deeper and more radical.

The first great composer able to reach peaks of excellence with this form of expression was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote a couple of dozen, ten of which are masterpieces and have become permanently part of the contemporary repertoire. Beethoven wrote only five. The third and fourth, beautiful, introduce some formal innovations, the fifth places the piano in the spotlight and reaches peaks of wonderful lyricism. It is considered by many to be Beethoven's masterpiece in this form, for expressive purity, melodic beauty, and rhythmic liveliness. And the interpretation by our Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli with the Wiener Symphoniker conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini is surely one of the most celebrated, and the most beautiful I know.

Many characteristics of this work open new perspectives for the future developments of the genre: the music starts, and what immediately captures the ear is the almost improvisatory character of the pianistic passages, virtuously silky, which precede the entry of the first theme, and the writing of a true concertante dialogue where there would usually have been the pianist's cadenza. Even the notable length of the first movement (more than twenty minutes), breaks past conventions, opening new possibilities.

The key of the initial Allegro is the same as the “Eroica” Symphony (E-flat major), typical of the “military concerto,” and this, together with the grandeur of the instrumental ensemble, ensures that a solemn triumphality is perceived, such as to justify the title of “Emperor Concerto” given to it in England after Beethoven's death. Everything is splendor, luxurious palaces, inner nobility, clean marble and enamels, lush gardens, uniforms in perfect order, opulence mitigated by the infinite sweetness of the second theme, one of the most tender things written by Beethoven.

With the second movement, the Adagio, Beethoven has the piano design a beautiful melody full of interiority and poetry, played on a rubato time that creates a slowdown and makes it seem suspended in the void, ethereal. At the end of the movement, a series of slow ascending chords serves as a preparation for the theme of the third movement, the final Rondo. A very exciting moment, if one knows this concerto. In fact, the last movement bursts forth seamlessly into a fast rhythm in 6/8, a module that had its origins in hunting music, and features many syncopated accents that make it one of Beethoven's most famous and captivating ideas.

Michelangeli's interpretation is of the highest artistic level, clean, full of great dignity and respect for the score. If you are looking for a listening experience that transports you to a world far from urban drabness, made of rain-wet asphalt, noises, various smells, tired and defeated looks in inadequate public transport... on your way home, before dinner, dedicate 40' to pure Beauty. And contemplate...