Claudio Arrau has been playing the piano to great international acclaim for almost eighty years. From Tokyo to Berlin to Paris to London to New York, he has won the love and admiration of music-lovers around the world. He has built his career largely without the help of hype or hysteria. Arraus repertoire is larger than that of any other pianist of his time. He is known universally as The Emperor. Although he has performed everywhere in the world except China, there is one country that is especially dear to Arraus heart: and that is his native Chile. His triumphant return to Chile in 1984 after an absence of 17 years was an event of national importance, ranking with Franz Liszts return to Hungary. In this program, well join Maestro Arrau as he returns to the land of his birth. And well also go back and trace the events in the life of this extraordinary artist. And finally, well hear Maestro Arrau perform his signature work, Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, the Emperor Concerto. This programme includes a 40-minute documentary tracing Arrau's life and career.

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5
A film by Peter Rosen

includes full performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’