Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 with Maurizio Pollini and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Karl Böhm. The key of C minor was Beethoven's "Storm and Stress" key, that of some of his most dramatic and heroic works. Composed around 1800, this concerto displays an emotional intensity that marks it as one of the first of Beethoven's mature and individual major works. Soloist Maurizio Pollini is one of the most distinguished pianists of our time, who has performed with the world's leading orchestras. A committed advocate of contemporary music, Pollini frequently performs works by Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen. However, he has also given complete cycles of the Beethoven sonatas in Berlin, Milan, New York, Munich and other cities. On the occasion of a performance of the Beethoven concertos at New York's Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra presented him with its "golden ring", a rare distinction awarded to only few musicians.