ICO: Beethoven with Bezuidenhout

THE Irish Chamber Orchestra embarks on a cycle of Beethovenโ€™s amazing five piano concertos over the coming seasons.

โ€œ These piano concertos are masterworks of a genre revolutionised by Beethoven. The first three demonstrate the rising star, the fourth a genius in the making and the fifth a real trailblazer. All five are equally virtuosic and vastly different in style.โ€ says Charlotte Eglington of ICO.

โ€œIf you love Beethoven, relish the sound of one of Irelandโ€™s most creative orchestras, and revel in superb piano-playing, join us and the brilliant Kristian Bezuidenhout in Limerick, Tralee, and Dublin on 20, 21 and 22 October.โ€

Born in South Africa in 1979, Bezuidenhout studied in Australia and lives in London. Renowned for his vivid and unforgettable performances, he is an expert in Beethovenโ€™s music and has recorded all five of his piano concertos (Harmonia Mundi). โ€œI strongly believe that we need to look at the Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos through the lens of this type of live-for-the-moment, mercurial approach; to treat the text like a blueprint, a springboard if you will,โ€ says Bezuidenhout.

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Bezuidenhout will be directing these concertos from the keyboard without a conductor, promising our audiences an unmissable experience. He offers spontaneity and a whole new perspective on Beethovenโ€™s music!

Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 3 with Kristian Bezuidenhout Director/Piano and the Irish Chamber Orchestra plays at University Concert Hall on Friday October 20.

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