Concertgebouw Orchestra and en Elim Chan: Elgar and Beethoven

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5

Beethoven explored the very boundaries of the genre in his adventurous Fifth Piano Concerto. It was nicknamed the ‘Emperor’ concerto because of its grand scale. In many ways, the work was ahead of its time, yet its popularity has remained undiminished thanks in part to the serene beauty of the slow middle movement. This impressive work is sure to fit pianist Yefim Bronfman like a glove.

Elim Chan conducts Koide and Elgar

The programme also features a delicate work poetically entitled Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain by the Japanese composer Noriko Koide. Elim Chan then conducts the Enigma Variations, in which Edward Elgar portrayed both friends and loved ones. The composer called the theme an enigma, writing that it is heard ‘but not played’. Discovering this enigmatic theme has occupied musicologists and music detectives alike for 100 years. Meanwhile, Elgar firmly put English music back on the map with this work, and music lovers around the world continue to listen carefree to its beautiful melodies.