Pianist Andrew von Oeyen has had a lengthy relationship with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, one stretching back to his earliest days as a musician.

"It was the third concerto that I learned, and I've played it a lot over the years," he said.

The list includes a performance in June at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.

"I conducted it from the keyboard," said von Oeyen, referring to the now-rare practice that predates the rise of an independent conductor in charge of the entire ensemble. "And when you add conducting into the pot, then it complicates things."

His next performances won't be quite so experimental as von Oeyen joins the Stockton Symphony this weekend to open the symphony's 81st season. The program also features Ravel's "Valses nobles et sentimentales" and concludes with Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier Suite." Peter Jaffe conducts.

A native of Los Angeles who studied at the Juilliard School and now divides his time between New York and Paris, von Oeyen made his debut as a soloist at age 16, performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The following season brought an even larger engagement with the same orchestra, and that experience reinforced the decisions he had made about his life.

"I wouldn't say that that concert sealed the deal in terms of my wishes to become a classical musician - I already knew that," he said. "But it was an incredible source of inspiration for me."

Since that time, von Oeyen has performed steadily in recitals and with orchestras across the United States as well as in Bratislava, Slovakia; and Singapore. A major recital tour of Japan is planned for early 2008. This weekend's performances mark von Oeyen's debut with the Stockton Symphony.

"I'm always curious to see what a new orchestra is like," he said.

The connection between soloist and conductor is an integral component to the success of such a performance. There is some amount of "feeling out" that goes on when conductor and soloist first meet.

"It's always a big adventure for me," Jaffe said. "There's a wonderful kind of silent bond you get from musicians working together. Sometimes it's not even visual - it's kind of a radar that locks in."

The concerts also mark the first time Jaffe had conducted the work in Stockton.

"The first and second (concertos) have not been done here for eons," he noted.

While the concerto is well known to audiences and performers, von Oeyen's experience conducting it from the keyboard allowed him to re-enter the historical world of the performer-conductor, much as Mozart or Beethoven would have done it. It has also been von Oeyen's initial entry into conducting, something he'd like to explore further.

"I haven't done much of it and it's always involved the piano in some way," he said. "It's sort of a double-edged sword - you have that comfort of having your instrument with you but the challenge is you never get a moment off the hook. It's a very different experience."

Contact Glenn Pillsbury at features@recordnet.com.