Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)

Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)

The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed primarily between 1787 and 1789, although it did not attain final form till 1798. It was used by the composer as a vehicle for his own performances as a young virtuoso, initially intended with the Bonn Hofkapelle. It was published in 1801, by which time he had also published the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, although it had been composed after this work.cite book |last=Lockwood |first=Lewis |title=Beethoven: The Music and the Life |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JsaG1AP1I0cC |year=2005 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |isbn=0-393-05081-5 |pages=94, 144, 174-5, 553 ]

The B-flat major Piano Concerto became an important display piece for the young Beethoven as he sought to establish himself after moving from Bonn to Vienna. He was the soloist at its premiere on March 29 1795, at Vienna's Burgtheater in a concert marking his public debut. (Prior to that, he had performed only in the private salons of the Viennese nobility.) While the work as a whole is very much in the concerto style of Mozart, there is a sense of drama and contrast that would be present in many of Beethoven's later works. Beethoven himself apparently did not rate this work particularly highly, remarking to the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister that it was "not one of my best". [cite web
url = http://secure.amnnewmedia.com/ravinia/2003/beeth_conc01.html
title = The Five Piano Concertos
accessdate = 2008-04-12
last = Sullivan
first = Todd E.
year = 2003
publisher = Ravinia Festival
]

Movements

The work is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.cite book |last= Beethoven |first=L. V. |title=Complete piano concertos: in full score |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=e4erU6LMVi4C |year=1983 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-486-24563-2 |pages=77-126 ] The concerto is in three movements:

*I. "Allegro con brio"
*II. "Adagio"
*III. "Rondo. Molto allegro"

The first movement begins with a triumphant orchestral opening on the tonic chord, and maintains a playfulness while using chromatic passages to show off the soloist's dizzying technique. The second movement is characteristically serene and peaceful, while the closing Rondo brings back the youth-filled playfulness heard in the opening movement.

This piece was published around the same time as his Sonata No. 11, Op. 22, which Beethoven considered to be one of his better works.

I. "Allegro con brio"

This movement is in the concerto variant of sonata form. The orchestra introduces the main theme and the subordinate theme in its exposition. The second exposition is in F major. The development wanders in key and ends on a long B-flat major scale. The recapitulation is similar to the exposition and is in B-flat major.

There is a rather difficult cadenza composed by Beethoven himself, albeit much later than the concerto itself. Stylistically, the cadenza is very different from the concerto, but it makes good use of the first opening theme. Beethoven applies this melody to the cadenza in several different ways, changing its character each time and displaying the innumerable ways that a musical theme can be used and felt.

Average performances last from thirteen to fourteen minutes.

II. "Adagio"

This movement is in E-flat major, the subdominant key. Like many slow movements, it has ABA (ternary) form, where the opening section introduces the themes, and the middle section develops them.

Average performances last from eight to nine minutes.

III. "Rondo—Molto allegro

This movement takes the form of a Third Rondo (ABACABA). Beethoven's playfulness of his early period can be heard here. There is a constant angular feel within the 6/8 melody itself that Beethoven plays on with each return of the rondo theme. The C section is also highly contrasting with the others, being that it is in a minor key and more forceful and stern in meaning.

Average performances last from five to six minutes.

References

External links

*
* Piano Concerto No. 2 sheet music available at [http://www.musopen.com/sheetmusic.php?type=sheet&id=60 Musopen.com]

Template group
list =


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven) — The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven s… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven) — Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58, was composed in 1805 ndash;1806, although no autograph copy survives. Musical forces and movementsThe work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of a flute, two oboes …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven) — Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano.Although described as his first piano concerto, this piece was …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven) — The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800, and first performed on April 5, 1803 with the composer as soloist. The Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives also received their… …   Wikipedia

  • Piano Concerto No. 0 (Beethoven) — Ludwig van Beethoven s Piano Concerto in E flat major, WoO 4, is one of his earlier works, written in 1784 when Beethoven was 14. Only the piano part survives today, although there are some indications in the manuscript for orchestral cues [… …   Wikipedia

  • Concerto pour piano nº 3 de Beethoven — Concerto pour piano no 3 Opus 37 Page de couverture de la première édition du Concerto (Vienne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Concerto Pour Piano N° 4 De Beethoven — Le Concerto pour piano en sol majeur, op. 58 est le quatrième des cinq concertos pour piano de Ludwig van Beethoven. Il fut composé en 1806 avec cependant des premières esquisses dès février 1804. Sa composition est à peu près contemporaine de sa …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Concerto pour piano n°4 de Beethoven — Concerto pour piano n° 4 de Beethoven Le Concerto pour piano en sol majeur, op. 58 est le quatrième des cinq concertos pour piano de Ludwig van Beethoven. Il fut composé en 1806 avec cependant des premières esquisses dès février 1804. Sa… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Concerto pour piano n° 4 de Beethoven — Le Concerto pour piano en sol majeur, op. 58 est le quatrième des cinq concertos pour piano de Ludwig van Beethoven. Il fut composé en 1806 avec cependant des premières esquisses dès février 1804. Sa composition est à peu près contemporaine de sa …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Concerto pour piano n° 4 de beethoven — Le Concerto pour piano en sol majeur, op. 58 est le quatrième des cinq concertos pour piano de Ludwig van Beethoven. Il fut composé en 1806 avec cependant des premières esquisses dès février 1804. Sa composition est à peu près contemporaine de sa …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”