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 [ [http://www.raptusassociation.org/beets_works.htm Beethoven Works ] ] . On the occasions when this work has been performed, the orchestral part has to be arranged beforehand. This concerto is sometimes referred to as Piano concerto No. 0, as it came before all of Beethoven's other piano concertos. Because the work is rarely performed, it has not had a chance to enter into the popular mainstream.

Description

The work is in three movements as follows:
# "Allegro moderato"
# "Larghetto"
# "Rondo allegretto"

The fact that each performance has different interpretations makes it difficult to describe the work accurately, but in general the concerto has the style of classical composers of the late 18th century such as Joseph Haydn, who would later come to tutor Beethoven.

The first movement has a piano part using mainly scale ideas at a fast tempo, and the slow movement is quite similar in form, with arpeggiation and ornamenting quite common. The rondo form has a jolly melody for the main theme, played very fast, although again it is based on scales.

References