Stephen Johnson is captivated by Beethoven in warm, lyrical mode as he listens out for the finest recordings of his groundbreaking work, Beethoven’s piano concerto No.4 <\/p>

Beethoven\u2019s so-called \u2018middle period\u2019, roughly the years 1802-12, is often referred to as his \u2018Promethean\u2019 phase. The masterworks of this time, we are often told, are characterised by intense striving, heaven-storming ambition, revolutionary daring in matters of form and expression. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But as Beethoven wrote enigmatically on one of his manuscripts, \u2018Sometimes the opposite is also true\u2019; and if any work could be held to demonstrate the truth of that it\u2019s the Fourth Piano Concerto, a work that, composed in 1805-06, enjoyed its premiere at the same huge Theater an der Wien concert on 22 December 1808 \u2013 the same event that also saw the first performances of Beethoven\u2019s Fifth<\/a><\/strong> and Sixth<\/a><\/strong> Symphonies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
The greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Forgotten Piano Concertos<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Best piano music of all time: are these the 10 greatest ever?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
What is the longest piece of piano music?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
A guide to the music of Beethoven\u2019s piano concerto No.4<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">As if to underline this \u2018opposite is also true\u2019 thesis, <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\/"\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> based the Fourth Piano Concerto\u2019s long first movement on the same rhythmic pattern as the famous da-da-da-DAH \u2018Fate\u2019 motif that launches the Fifth Symphony. But it\u2019s hard to imagine anything less like that symphony\u2019s driven, turbulent, anguished <i>Allegro con brio<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The work\u2019s opening is truly innovative. Where almost every classical era concerto before it had begun with a substantial orchestral introduction, setting out the main ideas before soloist claims centre-stage, Beethoven begins his Fourth<br\/>\nwith the soloist alone, quietly and \u2018gently\u2019 (<i>dolce<\/i>) delivering the main theme as though in a kind of reverie \u2013 it could almost be the beginning of one of Beethoven\u2019s famous improvisations. It breaks off, as though in mid-thought, and the strings reply with a hushed but magically surprising chord. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The movement that grows from this has its moments of grandeur and brilliance, but it is that opening that sets the emotional scene. Tender lyricism, delicacy and warmth of tone, even <\/span><span class=\""s2"\">moments of intimate, chamber music-like exchange between piano and orchestra are what one tends to remember above all, even in the <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-cadenza\/"\">cadenza<\/a><\/strong> that is normally played (Beethoven completed two of them). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Strikingly, trumpets and drums are silent in this movement \u2013 nothing martial is permitted here. There are also moments of exquisite mystery, as at the beginning of the central \u2018development\u2019 section, <\/span><span class=\""s1"\">where the piano leads us into strange new harmonic territory, with mesmerising crystalline falling figures; almost without realising it we have stepped into a romantic dream world. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">After this comes a slow \u2013 or, rather, slower \u2013 movement (the marking is <i><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-andante\/"\">Andante<\/a><\/strong> con moto<\/i>), whose effect is out of all proportion to its length. Orchestral strings and piano alternate and finally combine in a powerful and moving dialogue: strings initially brusque and rhythmically jagged, piano soothing, placatory. It could have been composed as a demonstration of the verse in the biblical Book of Proverbs: \u2018A gentle answer turns away wrath\u2019. The piano\u2019s phrases are at first incredibly simple \u2013 more or less a succession of barely ornamented chords \u2013 but the poignancy is intense. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">By the middle of the 19th century, Romantic writers were comparing this movement to the Ancient Greek legend of the divinely inspired musician Orpheus pacifying wild beasts or the Furies in Hades with his playing. The image has stuck \u2013 and no wonder. As the piano grows more and more impassioned, the string writing quietens and loses its edge, until at the end \u2013 after a short, heartfelt piano cadenza \u2013 only a ghost of its opening motif can be heard in the bass, like a great rough beast falling peacefully into sleep.<span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0 <\/span>According to a contemporary writer, when Beethoven played this movement he \u2018truly sang\u2019 through the piano. To make such simple writing \u2018sing\u2019 seems a huge challenge, but it\u2019s surprising how well it comes over in so many performances. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Virtuosic display, kept on a tight rein in the first two movements, is now allowed its moment in the <i>Rondo (Vivace)<\/i> finale, though even this begins with hushed strings, and a lightly dancing answer from the piano. There is Beethovenian grit along with the brilliance (trumpets and drums now doing their military bit), but there are plenty more moments of confidential poetry, as at the entry of the second theme \u2013 the piano solo followed by what sounds like a half-defined pre-echo of the famous \u2018<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/ode-to-joy-lyrics\/"\">Ode to Joy<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 theme in the finale of the <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/guide-beethovens-symphony-no-9\/"\">Ninth Symphony<\/a><\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">This time, however, Beethoven\u2019s cadenza is all fire and brilliance and, unusually for the time, Beethoven notates the piano part in full to the very last bar, ensuring that keyboard fireworks dominate proceedings. Thus a <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/what-concerto\/"\">concerto<\/a><\/strong> that began with the soloist meditating alone ends with the piano very much in command. If it\u2019s an invitation for applause, the music at the very least has earned it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The best recordings of Beethoven\u2019s piano concerto No. 4<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Maria Jo\u00e3o Pires<i> (piano) <\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s2"\">Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra\/Daniel Harding<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s2"\"><i>Onyx ONYX4125 (2014)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">You know you\u2019re in for something very special when the first chord of this piano concerto makes you sit up, senses instantly attuned. It may be just a simple, hushed chord of G major, but the intensity here is utterly electric. From that, the opening phrase tails off as though in a trance. Conductor Daniel Harding and the orchestra then deliver an engrossingly expressive account of the \u2018introduction\u2019, which leads so naturally to Maria Jo\u00e3o Pires\u2019s next entrance that it feels like she\u2019s deftly picking up the thread she let drop moments ago. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The first movement is quite measured in pace \u2013 more <i>moderato<\/i> than <i>Allegro moderato<\/i> you might say \u2013 and Pires allows the tempo to slacken during some of her reflective solos. But a steady momentum builds up during the first section and it never really slackens, and the<i> fortissimo<\/i> return of the first theme has a grand, but not forceful, inevitability. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Pires\u2019s minute shaping and shading are just as captivating. She can make what looks on paper like a formulaic \u2018brilliant\u2019 figuration into an expressive event in itself, but it never once feels like exaggeration. In some performances the familiar Beethoven solo cadenza can feel a bit of a dramatic non-sequitur \u2013 is it too dramatic, too virtuosic for its context? Certainly<br\/>\nnot here, and the easing back into the coda is one of the finest things in the whole of this performance. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Harding has evidently noted the marking <i>sempre staccato<\/i> (always \u2018staccato\u2019) on the string theme at the start of the second movement \u2013 traditionally this tended to be ignored in the interests of emphatic fullness of tone. It sounds angry enough, though, and makes a fine furious antagonist for Pires\u2019s Orpheus. But what\u2019s also remarkable is the way \u2013 as in the first movement\u2019s \u2018picking up the thread\u2019 effect \u2013 she manages to give the impression that the solo song is really continuous: Orpheus sings as much for himself as for his antagonists. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">After this the fireworks scintillate enjoyably in the final movement, and there\u2019s a strong sense of building up to something suitably rousing towards the end. But that\u2019s not what lingers in the memory \u2013 at least not for this particular listener. Here is a strong reminder that penetrating gentleness can not only turn away wrath \u2013 in fact it can be just as compelling, and far more satisfying, than attention-seeking virtuosity.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Beethoven-Piano-Concerto-Op-37-Op-58\\\/dp\\\/B00KCU2PWO\\\/ref=sr_1_1?","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"9.1-16.9","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\""width:\" max-width:=\"\" overflow:=\"\" hidden=\"\" border-radius:=\"\" src=\""https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/beethoven-piano-concertos-nos-3-4\/894671925"\" height=\""450"\" frameborder=\""0"\" sandbox=\""allow-forms\" allow-popups=\"\" allow-same-origin=\"\" allow-scripts=\"\" allow-storage-access-by-user-activation=\"\" allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>S<\/i><\/span><span class=\""s1"\"><i>tephen Kovacevich<\/i><\/span><span class=\""s2"\"><i> (piano)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Philips 422 4822<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">This 1971 recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Colin Davis has dated well, musically and sonically. There\u2019s a bit more muscularity in the solo playing, occasionally more of a hint of arm-wrestling in the relationship between piano and orchestra, than in the Pires\/Harding version. But it\u2019s the clarity and delicacy and, above all, the concentrated emotional insight that impress most. There\u2019s a real sense of desolation in the slow movement: Orpheus may have won this contest, but his own grief is unassuaged.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/dp\\\/B003TVLD26\\\/ref=sr_1_8","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"0.7-1.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><br\/><iframe style=\""width:\" max-width:=\"\" overflow:=\"\" hidden=\"\" border-radius:=\"\" src=\""https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/bj\/album\/beethoven-piano-concertos-nos-3-4\/1452216016"\" height=\""450"\" frameborder=\""0"\" sandbox=\""allow-forms\" allow-popups=\"\" allow-same-origin=\"\" allow-scripts=\"\" allow-storage-access-by-user-activation=\"\" allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation=\"\"\/><br\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Murray Perahia <\/i><\/span><span class=\""s2"\"><i>(piano)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Sony G010001222380W<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">More spacious and civilised than most competitors, Perahia\u2019s 1986 recording with the Concertgebouw is still a long way from blandly beautiful. It\u2019s the intelligence and musicality of Perahia\u2019s playing, plus the sense of minutely attuned partnership with conductor Bernard Haitink, that makes this such a strong contender. Perahia has a way of focusing in on tiny details that makes one want to hit the replay button, and yet the feeling for the musical line makes it important to catch what comes next, however well you think you know this music. It\u2019s also superbly recorded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/dp\\\/B001GU75W4\\\/ref=sr_1_6?","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"0.7-1.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <p><iframe style=\""width:\" max-width:=\"\" overflow:=\"\" hidden=\"\" border-radius:=\"\" src=\""https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/ua\/album\/beethoven-concertos-for-piano-and-orchestra-nos-3-4\/208585477"\" height=\""450"\" frameborder=\""0"\" sandbox=\""allow-forms\" allow-popups=\"\" allow-same-origin=\"\" allow-scripts=\"\" allow-storage-access-by-user-activation=\"\" allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Wilhelm Kempff <\/i><\/span><span class=\""s2"\"><i>(piano)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>DG 476 5299<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Performing was a \u2018mission\u2019 for Kempff, and it sounds it in this 1953 performance with the Berlin Philharmonic under Paul van Kempen. Over a half-century later, one can still feel the steely intensity, even when the playing barely rises above a whisper \u2013 which is quite often. Others may make more of this passage or that, but I don\u2019t know a performance that leaves me with such a sense of the Fourth Concerto as a whole statement, however richly detailed. Emotional and intellectual insight are rarely so integrated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Beethoven-Piano-Concertos-No-s-1-5\\\/dp\\\/B009IK4UQ8\\\/ref=sr_1_1?","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"7-13","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <p class=\""p5"\"><strong><span class=\""s4"\">And one to avoid\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s5"\">Ronald Brautigam\u2019s fascinating and well-played 2010 recording with the Norrk\u00f6ping Symphony should come with a health warning. After the concerto\u2019s premiere, Beethoven wrote embellishments and alterations into the solo part, perhaps reflecting the way he played it. He didn\u2019t publish them, though. For editor Barry Cooper it makes the music \u2018more sparkling, virtuosic and sophisticated\u2019; for me it sounds \u2018blingy\u2019. The most poetic of piano concertos turned into a <\/span><span class=\""s1"\">coloratura showcase? Please no.<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/10-great-beethoven-performers\/"\">10 great Beethoven performers<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/top-20-beethoven-works\/"\">The top 20 Beethoven works<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/five-unfinished-masterpieces-beethoven\/"\">Five unfinished masterpieces by Beethoven<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/6-best-beethovens-overlooked-works\/"\">6 of the Best: Beethoven\u2019s overlooked works<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Stephen Johnson is captivated by Beethoven in warm, lyrical mode as he listens out for the finest recordings of his groundbreaking work, Beethoven’s piano concerto No.4 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30663,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",477,472,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings-300x297.jpg",300,297,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",477,472,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",477,472,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",477,472,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/07\/a-guide-to-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-4-and-its-best-recordings.jpg",477,472,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Stephen Johnson is captivated by Beethoven in warm, lyrical mode as he listens out for the finest recordings of his groundbreaking work, Beethoven's piano concerto No.4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}