The special physical closeness on the piano bench certainly also played its role in the flood of enthusiasm for Beethoven's four-hand work, as comparable interactions were otherwise only granted to people who were not related to each other during dance according to the conventions of that time. A brilliant master as an arranger was Beethoven's student and long-time companion Carl Czerny.

Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya and Richard Egarr perform as a duo on the romantic fortepiano with Czerny's piano arrangement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. Its slow movement offers passages of depth and contemplation, while the emphatic final movement represents perhaps the most ecstatic moment in Beethoven's entire oeuvre. Preceding the Pastorale is a musical love letter from Gustav Mahler to his future wife Alma: the famous "Adagietto" from the fifth symphony. She responded to him with a simple yet significant "Come!".

Cast: Duo Pleyel Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya and Richard Egarr – Fortepiano

Program: Gustav Mahler (1860–1911): Adagietto from the 5th Symphony Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827): Symphony No. 6 in F major, op. 68 ("Pastoral") in the arrangement by Carl Czerny for piano four hands The Duo Pleyel performs on a fortepiano by Ignace Pleyel from the year 1848.