Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat,
The ‘Emperor’ Op. 73
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Allegro; Adagio un poco mosso; Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
Beethoven’s Fifth and last Piano Concerto, popularly known as the ‘Emperor’, was first performed in 1811. Beethoven did not bestow the title ‘Emperor’ on the work. Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher who had rights to the work, invented the name, which is used in English-speaking countries only.
Most listeners will know the concerto intimately, so detailed descriptions of each movement could irritate rather than illuminate. However, certain innovative features are worth pointing out because they help us to imagine how contemporary audiences might have reacted on hearing it for the first time.
Although the orchestra is of standard size and composition, the work itself is longer than other concertos of the period. Moreover, the piano itself was bigger than before. The early 19th century was a time of rapid development in the design and manufacture of musical instruments, none more so than the piano. The major piano companies such as Clementi, Erhard and Broadwood competed to produce louder and wider-ranging instruments. The opening flourishes of this concerto must have seemed like a demonstration of what a state-of-the-art instrument could do: higher than ever before, lower too and, indeed, louder. But this was not intended as a firework display. The so-called second subject of the first movement shows how lyrically and quietly the ‘modern’ piano could play. This enchanting intimacy imbues nearly all of the second movement, where the piano offers delicate accompaniments to orchestral solos for much of the time. The third movement is a rondo in which melodies alternate and reappear. Beethoven treats some of the repetitions as variations on their original versions, again demonstrating the expressive range and versatility of the piano.
Other features of this magnificent work must have surprised attentive listeners of the time. Beethoven enlarges the role of unlikely candidates within the orchestra. The 2nd horn is given two solos. The timpani player is prominent in a number of places, but especially towards the end of the third movement, as the music seems to die away prior to the final muscular outburst from the piano soloist. The second and third movements are linked by a kind of ‘pre-echo’ of the main rondo theme in the dying moments of the slow movement. This is heard over a long note held by the two horns: the longest note written for horns up to that time! Linking movements without pause, commonplace now, was unusual in Beethoven’s time.
For the technically-minded, the concerto contains other innovations, especially in the use of modulation and the choice of keys. For example, the slow movement is written in the key of B major which is remote from the ‘home’ key of E flat major. The themes are often subtly connected to each other, both within and between movements, and the soloist’s role as ‘conquering hero’ is firmly established, providing a model for the great Romantic concertos created by others during ensuing decades.
The ‘Emperor’ Op. 73
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Allegro; Adagio un poco mosso; Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
Beethoven’s Fifth and last Piano Concerto, popularly known as the ‘Emperor’, was first performed in 1811. Beethoven did not bestow the title ‘Emperor’ on the work. Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher who had rights to the work, invented the name, which is used in English-speaking countries only.
Most listeners will know the concerto intimately, so detailed descriptions of each movement could irritate rather than illuminate. However, certain innovative features are worth pointing out because they help us to imagine how contemporary audiences might have reacted on hearing it for the first time.
Although the orchestra is of standard size and composition, the work itself is longer than other concertos of the period. Moreover, the piano itself was bigger than before. The early 19th century was a time of rapid development in the design and manufacture of musical instruments, none more so than the piano. The major piano companies such as Clementi, Erhard and Broadwood competed to produce louder and wider-ranging instruments. The opening flourishes of this concerto must have seemed like a demonstration of what a state-of-the-art instrument could do: higher than ever before, lower too and, indeed, louder. But this was not intended as a firework display. The so-called second subject of the first movement shows how lyrically and quietly the ‘modern’ piano could play. This enchanting intimacy imbues nearly all of the second movement, where the piano offers delicate accompaniments to orchestral solos for much of the time. The third movement is a rondo in which melodies alternate and reappear. Beethoven treats some of the repetitions as variations on their original versions, again demonstrating the expressive range and versatility of the piano.
Other features of this magnificent work must have surprised attentive listeners of the time. Beethoven enlarges the role of unlikely candidates within the orchestra. The 2nd horn is given two solos. The timpani player is prominent in a number of places, but especially towards the end of the third movement, as the music seems to die away prior to the final muscular outburst from the piano soloist. The second and third movements are linked by a kind of ‘pre-echo’ of the main rondo theme in the dying moments of the slow movement. This is heard over a long note held by the two horns: the longest note written for horns up to that time! Linking movements without pause, commonplace now, was unusual in Beethoven’s time.
For the technically-minded, the concerto contains other innovations, especially in the use of modulation and the choice of keys. For example, the slow movement is written in the key of B major which is remote from the ‘home’ key of E flat major. The themes are often subtly connected to each other, both within and between movements, and the soloist’s role as ‘conquering hero’ is firmly established, providing a model for the great Romantic concertos created by others during ensuing decades.