5 (‘Emperor’), Second Movement Radu Lupu, Piano There’s a piece of music I’d like played at my funeral. Properly played – live, with orchestra and a decent pianist, not pumped out of speakers in the drizzle as people loaf around thinking about snacks. It’s one of the first pieces of music I cried to. Beethoven wrote five piano concertos and the last one is titled the ‘Emperor’ because it’s typically bombastic, heroic and in your face. (Much like Napoleon was, despite being so ickle.) The two outer movements are exhilarating – deluges of notes, cascades of fireworks, electrifying and tumultuous thrills and spills. And they flank a middle move-ment of breathtaking beauty and serenity. It was all a bit much for my younger mind to handle, but now as an adult it simply demonstrates everything that music is and does. Fucking Beethoven . . . I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THAT the most profound problem with my industry is that it takes the focus off creativity and places it instead on ego.
