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Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos

Andris Nelsons conducts Kendall and Beethoven Piano Concertos No. 2 and 4 with Paul Lewis, piano

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Paul Lewis, piano

Hannah KENDALL The Spark Catchers
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
Intermission
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4

English pianist Paul Lewis takes us on a musical and stylistic adventure through all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos over three concerts. These performances are paired with two poetic journeys: Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers, inspired by imagery from Lemn Sissay’s poem by the same name; and James Lee III’s Freedom’s Genuine Dawn, a BSO co-commission set with texts by the seminal 19th-century African American orator and activist Frederick Douglass.

The Friday Preview on October 20 at 12:15pm will be given by BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger with composer Hannah Kendall. Admission included with ticket.

  • The Arlene M. Jones Memorial Concert

Please allow additional arrival and entry time before your concert due to MBTA construction at the Symphony Green Line station. Parts of the sidewalk in front of Symphony Hall will be closed Mon-Fri 9:30am–3:30pm until further notice, however sidewalks will reopen two hours before BSO events

Paul Lewis sitting with his head resting in his left hand

Performance Details

Oct 20, 2023, 1:30pm EDT

Featuring

Program Notes & Works

The Spark Catchers

Hannah Kendall

The tingling detail in The Spark Catchers illustrates Kendall's response to a poem about women doing dangerous work in a match factory in the 1880s.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Opus 19

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat—written first but published second, as Opus 19—started its life in Bonn around 1790.

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, Opus 58

Ludwig van Beethoven

The Piano Concerto No. 4 introduced the audience to something completely new.

Paul Lewis performs Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 at Tanglewood

Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos +

Experience a musical and stylistic journey as English pianist Paul Lewis performs all five of Beethoven's piano concertos over three concerts.

View All Performances
Paul Lewis sitting with his head resting in his left hand

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