Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 6 is among the most technically demanding pieces composed by the German composer. It is the last of a set of six partitas published between 1726 and 1730 as Clavier-Übung I. Through the seven movements that compose this partita, Bach explores all the resources of the keyboard and shows brilliantly his mastery of all the composition techniques.

Composed in 1820, Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, is one of the latest piano sonatas composed by the Viennese composer. After the huge Hammerklavier sonata, Op. 106, Beethoven returns to a smaller scale with this piece dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano. The character is intimate, the first bars are remarkably gentle, and the overall structure shows a free and original approach to the traditional sonata form. In the third movement, the composer develops a particularly rich set of variations on a single theme.

To conclude this concert, Murray Perahia performs a few works by Fredéric Chopin, including the Third Ballade, a few Etudes as well as two Mazurkas. All these works composed in the first half of the 19th bear witness of the incredible virtuosity and musical originality of the great Romantic-era Polish composer and pianist.