Beethoven marathon to take place in Manchester

1 October 2013, 12:54 | Updated: 1 October 2013, 13:43

Pianist Martin Roscoe will perform all five of the composer's piano concertos in a single evening, hosted by Classic FM's Beethoven expert John Suchet.

Pianist Martin Roscoe is planning to perform all five of Beethoven's piano concertos in one sitting at a concert at the Royal College of Music in Manchester. Hosted by John Suchet, the performance will be conducted Daniel Parkinson, currently studying at the RNCM.

Not only will audiences be able to hear all of Beethoven's piano concertos in one evening, but the musical marathon will also be raising money for the Musicians Benevolent Fund.

Martin said: “It has been my ambition to perform all five Beethoven concertos in one evening for a long time, and it is great to be able to do this in aid of the Musicians Benevolent Fund.

"The icing on the cake is that this will happen in my alma mater, the RNCM in its 40th anniversary year, with an orchestra comprising many of its students past and present, with the very talented young conductor Daniel Parkinson."

Roscoe developed a reputation as a Beethoven fan when he recorded all of the composer's 32 piano sonatas. He's also no stranger to musical marathons - after performing both of Brahms' hefty piano concertos in the same concert, he was inspired to programme this five hour concert series.

Those who don't have the stamina for the full event can buy tickets in two hour chunks. Tickets are available from the RNCM website.