Concerto: A Beethoven Journey

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Two years ago, the beautiful portrait of German pianist Igor Levit became a surprise hit in cinemas and on our platform. What few people knew was that the film and Beethoven fan Levit had a predecessor in the film Concerto and in Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, who give an even more vivid insight into Beethoven's life and the enduring magic of his music. For four years, from 2011 to 2015, the affable Andsnes immersed himself in the five piano concertos that the composer, initially 21 years old, began in his hometown of Bonn in 1791 and completed in Vienna in 1810, long after he had lost his hearing and was no longer able to perform in concert. What is captivating about the cinematic recreation of this double musical journey, directed by British filmmaker Phil Grabsky, are the seamless transitions between the rehearsals, the performances, and Andsnes' explanations of the musical subtleties at the piano. The pianist plays the first notes of the Third Concerto, showing how Beethoven draws on Mozart, but immediately turns it into something completely his own, something literally unheard of until then, briefly playing almost boogie, anticipating jazz, bringing in the orchestra... With effortless precision, the notes and the scenery merge into the concert, the sound is drawn back again to allow excerpts from Beethoven's letters to flow in – and with them his biography, which was marked by commercial constraints, infirmities, and unfulfilled longing for love. This contrast makes the richness and sheer bliss of his music all the more magical. We will soon be adding the complete recordings of the concerts by Leif Ove Andsnes to this cinematic and musical gift.