#22 The Smell of City Built

It's a city that is building itself. In strings, and then in oboes, bassoons, and horns, clean lines are designed. The building rush starts at 0'45'' and the city is built in three minutes. After that, piano makes its entrée, and we see two different layers. It's a new architect who's explaining, showing new ways, and moderating. In the seventh minute, the two layers gets synchronized and new developments are coming.

The first movement tells everything, the whole story. This recording is superbly exhibited; it's a clever, clean, architectural approach. The layers of material and spiritual are fighting, and piano is losing again and again. In fortissimo of the last tutti, it has no chance. It goes down and then up in sixteenths but orchestra is just confirming its position by two chords per bar. Yes, at the very end, piano repeats the C notes, as orchestra does. But it's not a happy reunion–we know it was swallowed by the merciless city.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano concerto No 3, I. Allegro con brio
Recording: Richard Goode, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer