Beethoveen: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Louis Schwizgebel

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15
• 1I. Allegro con brio17:34
• 2II. Largo10:17
• 3III. Rondo (Allegro scherzando)08:39
• Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19
• 4I. Allegro con brio13:46
• 5II. Adagio08:34
• 6III. Rondo (Allegro Molto)05:52
• Total Runtime01:04:42

Info for Beethoveen: Piano Concertos 1 & 2

Louis Schwizgebel has been described as ‘a pianist with a profound gift’ (Guardian, August 2013) and an ‘insightful musician’ (NY Times, May 2013). Born in 1987, he is already well-known on the international scene (appearances at Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Royal Albert Hall, Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre, etc.). His third album for Aparté is devoted to two early masterpieces by Beethoven.

Louis Schwizgebel was selected by BBC Radio 3 as a BBC New Generation Artist. Here he plays with one of Britain’s finest orchestras, the London Philharmonic, conducted by Thierry Fischer. After his performances of these two Beethoven concertos at the Verbier Festival, under Charles Dutoit, at the Leeds competition and elsewhere, this recording is an eagerly awaited event in the young pianist’s career. Louis Schwizgebel. “Le brio avec lequel il court sur le clavier, et la dynamique qu’il impose… forcent l’admiration”. (Classica Oct 2013)

Louis Schwizgebel, piano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Thierry Fischer, conductor

Louis Schwizgebel
Born in Geneva in 1987, Swiss-Chinese pianist Louis Schwizgebel won the Geneva International Music Competition at the age of seventeen and, two years later, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. In 2012 he won 2nd prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition and in 2013 he was announced as a BBC New Generation Artist.

Schwizgebel has performed with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Nagoya and Shanghai Philharmonic orchestras, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's (NYC) with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Louis Langrée, Fabien Gabel, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Thierry Fischer and Vasily Petrenko.

In the coming seasons, highlights include performances at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Prague’s Smetana Hall, debuts with the City of Birmingham, Utah and Detroit Symphony orchestras, and returns to Macao Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and London Philharmonic amongst others.

Schwizgebel has played at major festivals such as Verbier, Progetto Martha Argerich, City of London and Bergen International Festivals and in 2014 made a hugely successful debut at the BBC Proms. He performs regularly in chamber music and recital across the globe, and in the coming seasons will play at London’s Wigmore Hall, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Fribourg International Piano Series, Shanghai Concert Hall and at the Berlin Philharmonie.

Schwizgebel records exclusively for Aparté and his first solo disc, Poems, featuring works by Ravel, Liszt, Holliger and Schubert was released in 2013 to exceptional critical claim. Germany’s Fono Forum gave the disc four stars and hailed Schwizgebel “a genuine virtuoso, a spirited young genius with real depth”.

Schwizgebel studied with Brigitte Meyer in Lausanne and Pascal Devoyon in Berlin, and then later at the Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald, and at London’s Royal Academy of Music with Pascal Nemirovski. Schwizgebel is grateful for the support he has received from the Migros Culture Percentage, Hans Wilsdorf Foundation and Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund.

This album contains no booklet.