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Celebrated pianist and renowned Beethoven specialist Rudolf Buchbinder releases his second album with Deutsche Grammophon following his exclusive contract with the label in 2019. The album captures a breath taking live performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1. from 2016 between Buchbinder, his long time friend Christian Thielemann , and the Berlin Philharmonics. This does not only represent the first DG release with Christian Thielemann and the Berlin Philharmonics but also celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary this year. The album is completed with Beethoven’s six variations for piano op. 34 recorded in August 2019, which is also when Buchbinder recorded his successful Diabelli Variations.

What’s in a title? When a composer sets out to compose, very often inspiration comes in the form of works of various length that do not have a specific designation. It was the case for Bach’s preludes from the Well-tempered Clavier, Beethoven’s bagatelles, or Chopin’s preludes – all works that were perhaps too short as standalone pieces, but that eventually found their way into larger collections. Today we view these as cohesive sets, though it was never the original intention.