Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)

The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B major, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed primarily between 1787 and 1789, although it did not attain the form in which it was published until 1795. Beethoven

Movements#

The work is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings; it is the only one of Beethoven’s seven completed concertos that omits clarinets, trumpets and timpani. The concerto 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 technique. The second movement is characteristically serene and peaceful, while the closing Rondo brings back the youth-filled playfulness heard in the opening movement.

I. Allegro con brio#

This movement is in the concerto variant of sonata form (double-exposition sonata form, in which the soloist repeats the orchestra’s initial exposition of the musical material of the movement). The orchestra introduces the main theme in B major, and the subordinate theme in D major, in its exposition. In the second exposition, the subordinate theme is in F major. The development wanders in key and ends on a long B major scale. The recapitulation is similar to the expositions and is in B major. There is a rather difficult cadenza composed by Beethoven himself, albeit much later than the concerto itself. Stylistically, the cadenza is very different from the concerto, but it makes 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. This movement was written between 1787 and 1789 in Bonn. Average performances last from thirteen to fourteen minutes.

II. Adagio#

This movement is in E 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 was written between 1787 and 1789 in Bonn. Average performances last from eight to nine minutes.

III. Rondo, Molto allegro#

This movement takes the form of a rondo (ABACABA) and showcases Beethoven’s playfulness of his early period. The theme is rhythmically unbalanced by sforzandi on beats 2 and 5 of each 6/8 measure. The C section is also highly contrasting with the others, in a minor key and intensifying the syncopation of the main theme’s sforzandi. Prior to the last appearance of the rondo theme, Beethoven brings the piano in the “wrong” key of G major, and with the theme displaced early by one beat with respect to the barline, before the orchestra “discovers” the discrepancy and returns to the correct tonic key and metric alignment. This musical joke can be seen in many of Beethoven’s subsequent compositions. This rondo is the one that Beethoven wrote in 1795 and premiered in Vienna that year. It shows Haydn’s influence, particularly in usage of sonata rondo form. An average performance lasts from five to six minutes.

Rondo in B major, WoO 6#

Beethoven originally composed a different rondo to end the concerto. It was replaced in 1795.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven