Concerto - A Beethoven Journey

During the past four years, the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has dedicated himself completely to Beethoven (1770-1827), whom he sees as the greatest composer of all time. Concentrating completely on one composer allows him to go deeper, with the ultimate goal of reaching a better understanding of his music. During those four years, Andsnes recorded the five piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra – directing from the piano – and followed them up with a world tour. Andsnes also played Beethoven’s chamber music, from the Kreutzer Sonata (with talented violist Vilde Frang) to the piano sonatas. The emphasis is on the piano concertos, which Andsnes describes as “magical pieces.” In this documentary by Phil Grabsky, who previously made , Andsnes talks about the concertos with great enthusiasm and expert knowledge – from the composer’s lively, virtuoso young works (numbers 1 and 2) to the epic, highly original last three. In these ambitious works full of daring innovations, we can hear Beethoven struggling with his increasing deafness as feelings of desperation, isolation and suffering vie with celebrations of freedom, both in a musical and a political sense. Grabsky intersperses Andsnes’s insightful reflections with passages from Beethoven’s letters on subjects including money (and the lack thereof), health problems and love.