Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in B♭ Major had a ridiculously long and complex gestation, perhaps beginning as early as 1788, and including a performance in 1795, although not in what eventually became its final form.
Adding to the confusion is that Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in B♭ Major was published later than his subsequent Piano Concerto in C Major. Hence, the B♭ is called Piano Concerto No. 2 and the one in C is called Piano Concerto No. 1 — opposite of the compositional order.
In an 1801 letter to his publisher, Beethoven called the Concerto in B♭ Major “one of my first concertos and therefore not one of the best of my compositions” and the C Major “which, indeed was written later, but which also does not rank among the best of my works in this form.”
Despite Beethoven’s disclaimer concerning the Piano Concerto in B♭, and the unpromising first movement, it does get better than what might be expected. The second movement has some lovely lyrical passages, and the last movement Rondo develops a nice rollicking drive.
#Beethoven250 Day 110
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B♭ Major (Opus 19), 1795–98
Harmony Zhu performs Beethoven’s first piano concerto with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. A short interview and encore follow.