Beethoven wrote 5 piano concertos. The (published as the) 2nd Piano Concerto was written before the first Piano Concerto. The Fourth Piano Concerto "threw it's audiences a curve (ball)" by starting with the solo piano, which is not a characteristic start to a 'piano concerto'.

We give thanks for "The Evening Concert" series!

Tonight's performances of the 8th and 9th Symphonies of Beethoven close out the 2014 BeethovenFest in Bonn from Deutsche Welle Radio.

We continue our "BeethovenFest in Bonn" series, then an audio depiction of 'The Sea' from Debussy, "absolute music" from Brahms by way of his 3rd Symphony, and more on this week's "Evening Concert".

It's not just apocrypha to relate that Beethoven loved the "Woods". He carried a notebook with him so as to jot down (music) ideas as they came to him on his walks. The 6th Symphony contains some of those ideas....