BBC Proms 2026: Martha Argerich plays Beethoven

With the 2026 edition of the BBC Proms festival heading into its final fortnight, there is still time for a few more titans of the genre to grace the stage. Last night was no exception, with the Royal Albert Hall – not a seat unsold – welcoming the legendary and storied Argentine pianist Martha Argerich to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major. This in the company of the Munich Philharmonic, under the baton – and infectiously charming presence – of their shiny new resident concert master, Lahav Shani.

Having turned 85 in June, Argerich continues to roam the world’s finest concerts at an impressive lick. Despite some apparent fatigue, she bears herself on stage with a calm simplicity and an easy elegance, sitting to deliver this intriguing work – the most classically informed of Beethoven’s five concerti for piano, curiously resembling one of his Mozartian Sonatinas set before an orchestra – with characteristic flourish and astounding deftness. She has this wonderful ability to capture an audience with a perfectly formed passage, sculpted and phrased but at the most microscopic pianissimo dynamic; something which, to their credit, the accompanying orchestra was generally able to accommodate. A slightly odd, uncertain cadenza in the first movement and uninspiring encore, The Fairy Garden from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite performed in duet with Shani, detracted little from what was generally a sparkling performance.

The rest of the programme, Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 2 to start and Brahms’s angst-riddled fourth symphony in the second half, came off with modest success in the hands of Shani and the Munich Philharmonic. Having got off to a nervy start, the Farrenc grew to be a tidy little mood setter, pairing aptly in tone to the concerto that was to follow. A particularly gymnastic bass trombone part is reliably entertaining.

Free to expand after the interval, the orchestra sank into Brahms’s serene melodies and characteristic dark turns with some relish. It was a delightfully deceptive interpretation of the – at this point – much-interpreted work. The Munich Philharmonic has in its locker an intensely rich and throaty string sound, which it could consider wheeling out a little more regularly. They and Shani made a decent go of captivating the colossal Argerich-drawn crowd; another solid evening’s work for the annals of this iconic classical music festival.

Will Snell
Photos: Chris Christodoulou

For further information and future events, visit the BBC Proms website here.