Presented by Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

Hear one of the world's great pianists in an intimate setting making a rare appearance with period instruments. Emanuel Ax makes his Philharmonia Baroque debut with Beethoven's fourth piano concerto on the fortepiano.

Beethoven composed his fourth symphony and fourth piano concerto for performance at the same concert in March 1807. Music Director Nicholas McGegan conducts, revealing the revolutionary genius of Beethoven middle-period. Hear them performed as they must have sounded that very evening in Vienna.

PROGRAM
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
BEETHOVEN 12 Contredanses for Orchestra, WoO 14
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60

EMANUEL AX
Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studies at the Juilliard School were supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the Young Concert Artists Award. Additionally, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in French. Mr. Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists followed four years later by the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.

In recent years, Mr. Ax has turned his attention toward the music of 20th-century composers, premiering works by John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, and Melinda Wagner. Mr. Ax is also devoted to chamber music, and has worked regularly with such artists as Young Uck Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, Mr. Ma, Edgar Meyer, Peter Serkin, Jaime Laredo and the late Isaac Stern.

Tickets $30 to $105. By phone or in person: City Box Office, 180 Redwood Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415-392-4400.