Beethoven & Tchaikovsky

Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto balances a flurry of piano trills and athletic runs with a majestic noble character that perfectly suits Yefim Bronfman’s potent but delicate approach, which is “distinguished by a powerful, muscular touch that made the intimacy of [Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto]’s more introspective moments even more alluring” (The New York Times). The Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan brings his own pianist’s ear to complement Bronfman with the LA Phil before he leads the orchestra through the emotional turbulence of Tchaikovsky’s passionate Sixth Symphony, filled with melancholy, longing, and brass chorales the composer described as putting his whole soul into.