Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.

The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of a flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. As is standard for concertos, it is in three movements:

Allegro moderato
Andante con moto
Rondo (Vivace)

The fourth concerto was premiered by Beethoven himself at a private concert given in March, 1807 at the palace of his patron, Prince Lobkowitz. However, the public premiere was not until 22 December 1808 in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien with Beethoven again as soloist. This was part of a marathon concert which saw Beethoven's last appearance as soloist with orchestra, as well as the premieres of the fifth and sixth symphonies. Beethoven dedicated the concerto to his friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolph. A review of the "Allegmeine Musikalische Zeitung" (May ,1809) says that " [this concert] is the most admirable, singular, artistic and complex Beethoven concerto ever". However, after its first performance the piece was neglected until 1836, when it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn.

The first movement opens with the solo piano, playing simple chords in the tonic key before modulating to the dominant key. Surprisingly, the orchestra then enter in B major, thus creating a tertiary chord change which then reveals itself as a motif in the opening movement.

The second movement has a widespread association of Orpheus taming the Furies (represented by the piano and unison strings, respectively) at the Hades gates. Franz Liszt used to be thought to have first offered this image, however as musicologist Owen Jander pointed out, it was most likely Adolph Bernard Marx the first to introduce this association in his biography of Beethoven (1859). The movement's quiet E minor ending leads without pause to the C major chords that open the finale.

The third movement is a Rondo with a very rhythmic theme, different in its mood from the first movement, mostly dialogue-like and quiet.

References

Freed, Richard. [Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58] Accessed 1 May 2006.

Media

[Piano Concerto 4, 1st movement] ([file info])
[Piano Concerto 4, 2nd and 3rd movement] ([file info])
Problems playing the files? See .

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