Watts plays Beethoven—performed by Pacific Symphony
As part of their Spring Classical Series, Pacific Symphony’s performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 was conducted by the symphony’s long-tenured musical director Carl St.Clair, alongside classical pianist André Watts at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California.
Philadelphia-based Watts performed the soloist portion of the piece, remarkably highlighting the musical nuances between Beethoven’s compositional intimacy and intended intensity for the Romantic-era piece to carry. Watts was able to achieve a unique and considerably clear indication of collaboration with his electrifying sound and striking passion.
Popularly referred to by its moniker, the “Emperor Concerto,” Beethoven’s approximately forty-minute piece is divided into three movements. Composed between 1809 and 1811, it serves as his last completed piano concerto. Although not coined by Beethoven himself, but rather by the English publisher of the piece, the concerto’s “Emperor” nickname is largely attributed to its large and imposing nature.
Each of the three movements is in Allegro, Adagio un poco mosso, and Rondo-allegro form, respectively. The first movement opens with a fast-tempo piano solo, very reminiscent of Beethoven’s Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor (“Für Elise,”), shortly followed by a striking and powerful symphonic clash to emphasize the piano’s accents.
St.Clair achieves the concerto’s unique characteristic of incorporating each section of the orchestra separately alongside the piano solo, while also emphasizing the orchestra as a whole. In this essence, the relationship between the piano and orchestra feels cohesive in many instances, as if they are peacefully completing one another’s expressions. Contrarily, in other moments throughout the piece, the piano and orchestra appear to exhibit a conflicting duel, as if they are passionately arguing with one another, highlighted especially in the first movement of the piece. This effect conveys an especially energetic and flashy feel to the piece as a whole.
The excitement of the piece brings out an important focus on the transition between the three movements, as each movement gradually builds off of the last to act as a teaser to the next. The end of the second movement is characterized by a slower and more condensed variant of the central theme in the third. Just as the theme towards the end of the second movement appears to be approaching a close, the reminiscent theme of the third movement begins nearly without notice. The transition between the Adagio and rondo form builds off of the initial theme of the A-section, only with added orchestral trills and variation to reaffirm the statements from the piano soloist.