Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)
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The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed primarily between 1787 and 1789, although it did not attain final form till 1798. It was used by the composer as a vehicle for his own performances as a young virtuoso, initially intended with the Bonn Hofkapelle. It was published in 1801, by which time he had also published the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, although it had been composed after this work.
The work is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.
The B flat major Piano Concerto became an important display piece for the young Beethoven as he sought to establish himself after moving from Bonn to Vienna. He was the soloist at its premiere on March 29, 1795, at Vienna's Burgtheater in a concert marking his public debut.(Prior to that, he had performed only in the private salons of the Viennese nobility.) While the work as a whole is very much in the concerto style of Mozart, there is a sense of drama and contrast that would be present in many of Beethoven's later works. Personally, Beethoven did not like this work much, remarking "not one of my best" to the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister.
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[edit] Movements
The is in three movements:
The first movement begins with a triumphant orchestral opening on the tonic chord, and maintains a playfulness while using chromatic passages to show off the soloist's dizzying technique. The second movement is characteristically serene and peaceful, while the closing Rondo brings back the youth-filled playfulness heard in the opening movement.
This piece was published around the same time as Piano Sonata No. 11 in Bb Major, Op. 22, which Beethoven considered one of his better works.
[edit] I. Allegro con brio
This movement is in the concerto variant of sonata form. The orchestra introduces the main theme and the subordinate theme in its exposition. The 2nd exposition is in F Major. The development wanders in key and ends on a long Bb Major scale. The recapitulation is similar to the exposition and is in Bb Major. There is a rather difficult cadenza composed by Beethoven himself, however composed in a later period. Stylistically it is very different than the concerto itself, but it makes good use of the first opening theme. Beethoven applies this melody to the cadenza in several different ways, changing its character each time and displaying the innumerable ways that a musical theme can be used and felt.
Average performances last from 13 to 14 minutes.
[edit] II. Adagio
This movement is in Eb Major, the subdominant key. Like many slow movements, it has ABA (ternary) form, where the opening section introduces the themes, and the middle section develops them. This movement is probably not as good as the slow movement to the 1st concerto, but nevertheless it is generally beautiful and grandiose.
Average performances last from 8 to 9 minutes.
[edit] III. Rondo-Allegro molto
This movement is a seven-part Rondo (ABACABA). Beethoven's playfulness of his early period can be heard here. There is a constant angular feel within the 6/8 melody itself that Beethoven plays on with each return of the rondo theme. The C section is also highly contrasting with the others, being that it is in minor and bit more forceful and stern in meaning.
Average performances last from 5 to 6 minutes.
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