Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
| Piano Concerto in C minor | |
|---|---|
| No.3 | |
| by Ludwig van Beethoven | |
.png) Title page of the first edition | |
| Opus | 37 |
| Year | 1800 |
| Style | Classical period |
| Dedication | Louis Ferdinand of Prussia |
| Performed | April 5, 1803 Vienna |
| Published | 1804 |
| Movements |
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| Scoring |
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Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 may have been created in 1800, although this has been argued by some musicologists. It was first played on 5 April 1803, with Beethoven as the soloist.[1] On the same day, the Second Symphony and Christ on the Mount of Olives were also played for the first time.[2] The work was made public in 1804 and was dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The first theme is similar to that of Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto, also in C minor.
Structure
The concerto was created for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B♭, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in E♭, E and C, 2 trumpets in C, timpani, strings, and piano soloist.
As is normal for Classical/Romantic-era concertos, the work is in three movements:
First performance
The piece was not finished when it was first played. Beethoven's friend Ignaz von Seyfried, who turned the pages of the music for him, wrote:[2]
I saw almost nothing but empty pages; at the most, on one page or another a few Egyptian hieroglyphs wholly unintelligible to me were scribbled down to serve as clues for him; for he played nearly all the solo part from memory since, as was so often the case, he had not had time to set it all down on paper.
References
- ↑ Platinga, Leon (Summer 1989). "When Did Beethoven Compose His Third Piano Concerto?". The Journal of Musicology. 7 (3): 275–307. doi:10.2307/763602. JSTOR 763602. (subscription required)
- 1 2 Steinberg, Michael, The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, pp. 59–63, Oxford (1998).
Other websites
- Piano Concerto No. 3: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Sheetmusic, Musopen
- Aperçu of Apotheosis, Program Notes on the Third Piano Concerto by Ron Drummond