| Piano Concerto No. 4 (beethoven) |
Article Index for Piano Concerto |
Website Links For Piano |
Information AboutPiano Concerto No. 4 (beethoven) |
|
The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of a Flute , two Oboe s, two Clarinet s, two Bassoon s, two Horn s, two Trumpet s, Timpani , and Strings . As is standard for Concerto s, it is in three movements: : I. ''Allegro moderato'' (G major) : II. ''Andante con moto'' (E minor) : III. ''Rondo (Vivace)'' (G major) 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 . Beethoven again took the stage as soloist. This was part of a marathon concert which saw Beethoven's last appearance as a soloist with orchestra, as well as the premieres of the Choral Fantasia, as well as the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies . Beethoven dedicated the concerto to his friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolph . A review in the May 1809 edition of ''Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung'' states that " concerto 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 . MOVEMENTS I. ''Allegro moderato'' The first movement opens with the solo piano,Another classical concerto which begins with solo piano rather than full orchestra is Mozart's s, the orchestra then enters in B major , the major Mediant key, thus creating a Tertiary chord change. This becomes a Motif of the opening movement. The orchestra states the main theme in B major, dropping through the Circle Of Fifths to a Cadence in the tonic, G major. The theme is then stated again, this time in Stretto between Upper And Lower Voices . A very strong cadence in the tonic, withering away within one bar, introduces a transitional, Modulatory theme with restless Triplet accompaniment, also containing hints of stretto. The music moves to the minor Mediant key, B minor, while its Dynamic is reduced to Pianissimo , at which point material from the opening theme returns. Through a rising bass line and Sequential harmonies, the music regains the tonic key (on a Dominant Pedal ) with a new theme derived from bars 3, 4, and 5. The final cadence is delayed for several bars before the material from the opening bar resurfaces as the movement's closing theme, accompanied by a tonic pedal over '' Forte '' dominant chords. The piano's entrance resembles an ''Eingang'', an Improvisatory passage from Mozart's day that would have occurred after the orchestra's last Unresolved dominant chord, but before the piano played the main theme. Beethoven captures this improvisatory style by accelerating the rhythm in the piano part, from Eighth s, to triplets, to Sixteenth s, and finally in a Scale that rushes downward in sixteenth sex Tuplet s. A long preparation is then made before a tonic cadence duly arrives, and the orchestra once again takes up the main theme. II. ''Andante con moto'' The second movement is widely associated with the imagery of Orpheus taming the Furies (represented, respectively, by the piano and Unison Strings ) at the gates to Hades . It was long thought that Franz Liszt had been the first to suggest this association, although, as musicologist Owen Jander pointed out (Jander, 1985), it was probably first used by Adolph Bernard Marx in his 1859 biography of Beethoven. The movement's quiet E minor ending leads without pause into the C major chords that open the Finale . The solo cadenza at the end of the movement involves pedaling directions that cannot be executed on the modern piano; for discussion see Piano History And Musical Performance . III. ''Rondo (Vivace)'' In contrast to the preceding movements, the third movement, in traditional Rondo form, is characterized by a very rhythmic theme. The main theme begins in the Subdominant key of C major before correcting itself and Cadencing in the tonic of G major. POPULARITY This concerto is one of the most popular among pianists, evidenced by the many Cadenza s written for it by various pianists and composers throughout history; these include Clara Schumann , Feruccio Busoni , Hans Von Bülow , Ignaz Moscheles , Camille Saint-Saens , Anton Rubinstein , Nikolai Medtner , Leopold Godowsky , and Samuel Feinberg , to name but a few. REFERENCES
MEDIA EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|