From the Klavierfestival Ruhr in the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, Germany:
Daniel Barenboim conducts and performs with Staatskapelle Berlin.
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 1
00:00 I. Allegro con brio
14:50 II. Adagio
24:22 III. Satz: Rondo, allegro molto
Daniel Barenboim - piano and conductor
Staatskapelle Berlin
About the event
In time for his 65th birthday in 2007, Daniel Barenboim has completed a cycle of Beethoven's piano concertos. Recorded live at the prestigious Klavier-Festival Ruhr in May 2007, this recording reflects both a very individual and special reading of Beethoven’s music and the artist’s life-long dedication to the composer. Daniel Barenboim is one of the most prolific and high-profile artists performing on international stages today and Beethoven’s masterpieces have been a key part of his repertoire throughout his career, both as conductor and as pianist.
Beethoven himself was a keyboard virtuoso of almost awesome abilities who created a sensation wherever he played. It is no wonder, therefore, that the piano was central to Beethoven’s overall output. Daniel Barenboim, artistic personality and former wunderkind, long an essential part of the international musical scene both on the conductor’s podium and at the piano, is the perfect match for this demanding music. Conducting and playing at the same time, Barenboim chose his orchestra of almost two decades, the Staatskapelle Berlin, which he has praised warmly for its exceptional, dark and warm sound. With a tradition reaching back to 1570, the Staatskapelle Berlin is one of the oldest orchestras in the world.
Barenboim plays Beethoven brings together two musical masterminds.
About the Berlin Staatskapelle
The Berlin Staatskapelle can look back on a long tradition dating to the 16th century, making it one of the oldest orchestras in the world. lt was established as a court orchestra by the Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg and is first mentioned in a document listing the orchestra's rules and regulations in 1570. As the court orchestra to the Elector of Brandenburg, it was originally expected to serve a musical role at court but with the formation of the Royal Court Opera by Frederick the Great in 1742 it assumed a wider range of activities. Since then it has been permanently associated with the opera house on Unter den Linden.
From an early date, the opera was run by leading musicians of the day, a situation that continued after 1842 when the orchestra also began to perform concerts regularly. Gaspare Spontini, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Felix von Weingartner, Richard Strauss, Erich Kleiber, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Franz Konwitschny, Otmar Suitner and Daniel Barenboim are only some of the conductors who have left their decisive mark on the Berlin Staatskapelle, influencing both its sound world and its style of interpretation.
The orchestra's international standing has been demonstrated again and again by numerous foreign tours, including cycles of all the Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos in Vienna, Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, and elsewhere, as well as cycles of the symphonies of Schumann, Brahms and Mahler and three cycles of Wagner's Ring in Japan in 2002. The Berlin Staatskapelle was named "Orchestra of the Year" by Opernwelt in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2008. In 2003 it was awarded the Furtwängler Prize.
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