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Beethoven Piano Concerto 1 Program notes and Sheet Music

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

While numbered as his first, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, was actually composed after his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major (Op. 19), a quirk of publication history. Completed largely between 1795 and 1800, with its premiere occurring on March 29, 1798, in Vienna with Beethoven himself at the keyboard, this concerto marks a significant milestone in the young composer’s career in the imperial capital. It showcases a composer firmly rooted in the Classical traditions of Mozart and Haydn, yet already brimming with the bold individuality that would soon redefine music.

A Virtuoso's Statement: Commanding the Keyboard

Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792, rapidly establishing himself as an unparalleled piano virtuoso. This concerto, like his others from this period, served as a vehicle for his own formidable talents at the keyboard. Contemporaries marveled at his improvisations and his powerful, often fiery, playing. In a typical practice of the time, Beethoven would often not complete the solo piano part until shortly before a performance, and he famously reserved his own dazzling cadenzas for himself, writing them down for publication much later. Indeed, he composed no fewer than three different cadenzas for the first movement of this very concerto, each showcasing varying levels of complexity and dramatic flair!

The concerto, while adhering to the standard three-movement form, already hints at the grandeur and dramatic scope that would characterize Beethoven's later works.

  • First Movement

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    Piano-Concerto-1-op15   
    Composed in 1800
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