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Although described as his first piano concerto, this piece was Beethoven's third attempt at the genre, following an unpublished piano concerto in E-flat major (not to be mistaken for the "Emperor" concerto, Piano Concerto No. 5) and the Piano Concerto No. 2, published after Piano Concerto No. 1 (in 1801) but composed almost ten years earlier.

Movements

: I. "Allegro con brio": II. "Largo": III. "Rondo. Allegro scherzando"

As with the Piano Concerto No. 2, this C major concerto reflects Beethoven's assimilation of the styles of Mozart and Haydn, while its abrupt harmonic shifts demonstrate Beethoven's musical personality. It adheres to the concerto variant of sonata form.

I. "Allegro con brio"

Tempo: quarter note = 144

The first movement is in sonata form, but with an added orchestral exposition, a cadenza, and a coda. It has a main theme repeated many times, and there are several subordinate themes. The orchestral exposition changes keys many times, but the second exposition is mainly in G major. The development is in C minor, which ends with an octave glissando. The recapitulation is in C major.

There are three cadenzas to this movement, all of which vary in length and difficulty and all ending with trills. The coda is played by the orchestra alone. Average performances vary in length from sixteen to eighteen minutes.

II. "Largo"

The second movement is in the key of A flat major, in this context a key relatively remote from the concerto's opening key of C major. If the movement adhered to traditional form, its key would be F major, the subdominant key.

Like many slow movements, this movement is in ternary (ABA) form. Its opening A section presents several themes that are then developed in the middle B section.

Typical performances last more than ten minutes.

III. "Rondo. Allegro scherzando"

The third movement is a seven-part rondo (ABACABA), a traditional third-movement form in classical concerti. The piano states the main theme, which is repeated twice. The two B sections (subordinate themes) are in G major and C major respectively. The middle section is in A minor.

There is one very short cadenza that is not at the end of the movement. The movement ends with a striking dynamic contrast; the piano plays a melody quietly, but the orchestra then ends the movement forcefully.

The movement typically lasts around eight to nine minutes.

Gould Cadenzas

The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould wrote his own cadenza to Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.1. It was published by Barger and Barclay.

External links

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* Piano Concerto No. 1 sheet music available at [http://www.musopen.com/sheetmusic.php?type=sheet&id=59 Musopen.com]

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