Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806. It was premiered in March 1807 at a private concert of the home of Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz. The Coriolan Overture and the Fourth Symphony were premiered in that same concert. However, the public premiere was not until a concert on 22 December 1808 at Vienna's Theater an der Wien. Beethoven again took the stage as soloist. The marathon concert saw Beethoven's last appearance as a soloist with orchestra, as well as the premieres of the Choral Fantasy and the Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Beethoven dedicated the concerto to his friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolph. A review in the May 1809 edition of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung states that "[this concerto] is the most admirable, singular, artistic and complex Beethoven concerto ever". However, after its first performance, the piece was neglected until 1836, when it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn. Today, the work is widely performed and recorded, and is considered to be one of the central works of the piano concerto literature. WIKIPEDIA
VIDEO: Mitsuko Uchida piano Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Mariss Jansons conductor Proms festival 2013, London Royal Albert Hall Mitsuko Uchida returns to the Proms after an absence of almost 20 years as the soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, which overturned formal traditions by opening with a simple statement for solo piano. Musical ideas are tested to their limits in a conversation between keyboard and orchestra.
