Piano Literature : Concertos

Lecture III : Beethoven

Becoming equal, remote key

thematic transformation (influenced to Schumann)

Cadenza is shorter or not necessary (No. 5) - Balance

Concerto No. 1 in C, op 15

Begins with a rather military sounding, march-like theme characterized by an octave leap that is employed extensively later in the movement.

The idea of remote keys:

1. Opening orchestra ritornello- use of the rather distant key of Eb major to begin the second subject.

2. Slow movement - Ab major (with Eb as a subsidiary key)

3. Playful finale that contrast with the deeply emotional slow movement, both Eb and Ab are touched on, while in the coda the music suddenly lurches into the unlikely key of B major for a few bars.

Concerto No. 2 in Bb, op 19

Surprises: Sudden change to Db major in the opening ritornello, and in the finale the theme appears in G major towards the end.

1. First movement: very Mozartian with it's expressive chromatic appoggiaturas and highly decorative piano figuration.

2. Slow movement: Adagio

3. Finale is characterized by a theme with off-beat accents.

Concerto No. 3 in c, op. 37

Begins in a similar way to Mozart c minor piano concerto (k 491) with quiet, unison strings.

1. Theme: the last five notes of the opening string phrase suggest the timpani. the answering woodwind phrase at the beginning peaks on a high Ab - a note which is also emphasized at the start of the finale.

2. Slow movement: remote key of E major - the home key becomes apparent to the listener when the G# in the finale E major chord of the slow movement is repeated at the start of the finale as the Ab mentioned earlier

3. Finale ends in C major, with a speeded-up, dance-like version of the main theme, now in 6/8 instead of the more stolid 2/4

Concerto No. 4 in G, op. 58

1. First movement begins with the piano solo unusually. Based on a motif of four repeated notes that recalls the rhythm of the opening of the Fifth Symphony

2. Second movement Loud, sombre unison passages for strings alternate with gentle, doleful harmonious phrases for piano, and gradually the strident tone of the strings subsides.

3. Finale movement seems to begin out of key in C major.

Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" in Eb, op. 73

1. First movement contains a strong emphasis on the two primary chords - tonic and dominant - and the second theme , a march-like one heard first in the minor and then the major, is harmonized almost entirely by these two chords. In the solo exposition this second theme is heard in the remote keys of b minor and B major before appearing as normal in the dominant (Bb), and as in the No. 1 has long-range significance, for B major is re-used as the key of the slow movement.

2. Slow movement leads without a break into the finale

3. Finale is on tonic and dominant harmony

Romantic Composers