Igor Levit describes Beethoven’s radiant E flat major concerto as a work that “makes you really happy”. With his cycle of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas at Musikfest Berlin, the pianist demonstrated just how sensitively and at the same time powerfully he can convey the various facets of Beethoven’s music. Following Levit’s debut with the orchestra at the 2015 Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, he now appears for the first time with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Philharmonie Berlin under the baton of Paavo Järvi. Another item on the programme is Prokofiev’s Symphony in E flat minor. Its opus number – a reference to Beethoven’s Piano Sonata op. 111 – reflects Prokofiev’s admiration for the First Viennese School composer.