Giedrė Šlekytė & Juho Pohjonen

The fifth piano concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven well deserves its imperial title, The Emperor. It was not, however, a title chosen by Beethoven, even though it well describes the work’s majestic bearing.
The early version of the orchestral poem Macbeth by Richard Strauss is based on the powerful Shakespeare drama. Competing with Strauss for the status of foremost opera composer of his day was Vienna’s Franz Schreker. His Vorspiel zu einem Drama is an expanded concert overture to one of his great hits, the opera Die Gezeichneten.