Piano Concerto No.4 in G major, Op.58
Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major, Op.73, ‘Emperor’

Yevgeny Sudbin made his sensational début on disc with a programme of sonatas by Scarlatti, but soon continued with recordings of music by later composers from his own country of birth, Russia. 2010 saw Sudbin’s return to the 18th century, with a Haydn recital which has confirmed his reputation as a highly versatile musician, ‘whose exquisite nuances, shimmering colours and rare rhetorical power make him an ideal Haydn interpreter.’(Pizzicato) This acclaimed disc was described as ‘truly a class act’ by Classic FM Magazine; an act which Sudbin now follows up with the first disc in a series of Beethoven’s piano concertos. Opening with the composer’s final two works in the genre, Sudbin shares the stage with Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, a team whose Beethoven credentials are assured after their recent cycle of the nine symphonies – ‘unquestionably one the great Beethoven cycles’ according to the website ClassicsToday.com. If Beethoven’s first works in the concerto genre are indebted to Mozart, the composer had definitely found his own feet by the time of Piano Concerto No.4 in G major. This is evident from the very beginning of the work where, instead of the expected orchestral introduction, the solo piano enters, signalling the intimate and lyrical quality of the work. No less innovative is Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major – by many considered the finest of all piano concertos. Giving the timpani an unusually prominent and crucial role, this work is majestic and at times even martial in character, something which in English-speaking countries has earned it the nickname ‘Emperor’.