Philharmonia Orchestra: Alim Beisembayev plays Beethoven

Adam Hickox conductor
Alim Beisembayev piano

Mendelssohn Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Brahms Symphony No. 1

Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto is a masterpiece. Opening with the solo piano with no orchestral introduction, it’s a deeply intimate work that remains one of the composer’s best loved. Tonight, we hear it in the hands of Alim Beisembayev, winner of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2021.

Brahms’s magnificent First Symphony was many years in the making. And it may never have seen the light of day without the support and friendship of Robert Schumann and his wife Clara – an article by Robert Schumann launched Brahms’s composing career when the three first met, and they soon became devoted friends. The symphony is a 45-minute journey through all the poetry and power an orchestra can conjure.

First, we hear Mendelssohn’s overture, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage. Taking inspiration from poetry by Goethe, Mendelssohn’s orchestral seascape takes the listener on a journey through oceanic stillness, anxious calmness, and the celebrations of sailors as the wind aids them back towards land. It’s a charming, evocative 10 minutes of musical storytelling.