Opus 15 Concerto in C major for piano and orchestra
I) Allegro con brio (without cadenza) – II) Largo – III) Rondo – Allegro
Opus 15 – Concerto in C major for piano and orchestra, op. 15, dedicated to Princess Babette Odescalchi, née Keglevich, 1798, published in detached parts in Vienna, Mollo, March 1801; in score ibid., Haslinger, 1833. GA. no. 65 (series 9/1) – B. 15 – KH. 15 – L. I, page 152 – No. 15 – P. 70 – T. 33.
The original manuscript is preserved in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Although it cannot be said with certainty, it is nevertheless very probable that Beethoven during his stay in Prague in 1798 performed for the first time, in addition to the Concerto in B flat major in its second version, also this one in C major, the drafts of which, from 1795-96, are slightly later than those of the first version of the other.
That the Concerto in C major, published first, was nevertheless completed after the one in B flat is apparent, as we have already seen, from a letter from Beethoven to the Breitkopf and Härtel publishing houses. Throughout the Allegro con brio, the variety of the instrumental (clarinets, trumpets and timpani are also included in the score), the dynamism of the episodes, the essentiality of the piano participation (see, among other things, the transition to the reprise, with its characteristic dissolvations, echoes and instrumental references and the energetic return of the soloist) reveal a greater richness and breadth than the previous concerto.
Analogies with the Adagio of this one are found in the Largo for the character of an instrumental romance, whose noble melodic line nevertheless indulges in some ornamental figures, and for the general setting of the relationship between soloist and orchestra, in which some prominent reprises emerge from time to time in the wind instruments.
The sweet and explained musical discourse is sometimes veiled by some nostalgic shadow. The two Finales also correspond to a certain commonality of spirit and the popular character of the themes, perhaps even more accentuated in the concert in question. An episode of color is constituted by the second interlude of a passion, we would say, gypsy.
Other interesting details: the deviation of the refrain in B major before the last reprise of Tutti and finally that kind of drawling teasing of the oboes and horns (Adagio of two bars in response to the cadence of the piano) then concisely reiterated at the conclusion in Tempo primo by the orchestra.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: Opus 15 Konzert Nr. 1 (C-dur) für Klavier und Orchester Widmung: Anna Luise Barbara Fürstin d’Erba-Odescalchi NGA111/2 AGA 65 = Serie 9/1
Origin and publication: The oldest sketches date from 1793, a first complete transcription was probably available in late 1794 or early 1795 for one of the concerts on 29 March or 18 December 1795. Before going to print – and on a benefit concert on April 2, 1800 – the work was transcribed and revised again. The original edition in parts was published by Mollo in Vienna in March 1801. On April 22, 1801, Beethoven wrote to Breitkopf & C Härtel about the order in which his first two piano concertos were composed:„bey mollo hier kommen wenn mir recht ist, bis 8 Werke heraus [darunter Op. 15], bev Hofmeister in leipzeig ebenfals Vier Werke [darunter Op. 19] – ich merke dabey bloß an, daß bey Hofmeister eins von meinen erstem Konzerten heraus kömmt, und folglich nicht zu den Besten von meinefnl Arbeiten gehört, bey mollo ebenfalls ein […] zwar später verfertigtes Konzert, aber ebenfalls noch nicht unter meine besten von der Art gehört“ (BGA 59). Douglas Johnson’s in-depth examination of the sketches for both concertos confirms that an early version of op. 19 was composed during Beethoven’s years in Bonn and that op. 15 was not conceived until 1793 (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 p. 350-362, 364-385). Beethoven had originally scheduled a new piano concerto for his academy on April 2, 1800 (Op. 37; see Johnson/Fischhof Vol. 1 p. 391f).
Beethoven found himself unable to finish the new concerto in time and resorted to op. 15 and remade a new score. Before going to print in March 1801 he heavily revised the solo part (Küthen/ NGA III/2KB, pp. 7-13). Negotiations with Mollo were probably concluded by the end of the 1800s. In a letter to Franz Anton Hoffmeister dated 15 December, Beethoven reports in connection with the offer of op. 19 that his Concerto in C major will be published in Vienna:“3tens ein Konzert fürs Klawier [Op. 19], welches ich zwar für keins von meinen Besten ausgebe, so wie ein anderes [Op. 15], was bey mollo hier herauskommen wird, (zur Nachricht an die Leipziger Rezensenten), weil ich die Bessern noch für mich behalte, bis ich selbst eine Reise mache, doch dörft es ihnen keine schände machen es zu stechen“
The letter to Breitkopf & Härtel of 22 April 1801 quoted above could also be interpreted as if the printed concerto had not yet been published by Mollo at that time. However, the announcement in the Wiener Zeitung of March 21, 1801 contradicts it. In contrast to the autograph, the printed solo part contains a basso continuo with figures in all passages, on the authorship and relevance to the practical implementation of which there are different opinions (Ferguson/ColBasso pp. 243-245, 248-256, Küthen/NGA III /2 KB p. 11-13, Küthen/Gradus, Badura-Skoda/Concerti including replicas and Szäsz/BassoContinuo). As for the dedication, see op. 7. First performance: Vienna 1795, on 29 March at the Academy of the Tonkünstler-Societät in the Hofburgtheater or on 18 December at the Academy organized by Joseph Haydn in the small Redoutensaal of the Hofburg (Wegeler/Ries p. 36; announcements: Wiener Zeitung 1.4 and 16.12.1795). Franz Gerhard Wegeler writes of the first performance of the concerto, which took place between October 1794 and February 1796 – during his stay in Vienna and before Beethoven’s trip to Prague: “Erst am Nachmittag des zweiten Tages vor der Aufführung seines ersten Concerts (C dur) schrieb er das Rondo […]. Bei der ersten Probe, die am Tage darauf in Beethovens Zimmer statt hatte, stand das Klavier für die Blasinstrumente einen halben Ton zu tief. Beethoven ließ auf der Stelle diese und so auch die übrigen, statt nach a, nach b stimmen und spielte seine Stimme aus Cis” (Wegeler/Ries, p. 36). Due to the lack of information in the announcements, it is not possible to determine on which of the two known dates of the concerto Beethoven played the concerto in C major. Sketches from this period also allow for both attributions (Johnson/Fischhof, vol. 1, pp. 353-357 and Küthen/NGA, III/2 KB, pp. 5f, 12). During Beethoven’s stay in Prague, there may have been another performance of the concerto in October 1798 (Tomaschek/Autobiography p. 374), for which a sketch of the cadence has been preserved. In the final version, op. 15 was performed as part of the benefit concert on 2 April 1800 at the Hofburgtheater (announcement: Wiener Zeitung 26 March 1800). In addition to these certain dates, other concerts can be documented in which op. 15 may have been performed: during Beethoven’s travels in 1796 to Prague, Berlin, Pressburg and Budapest and, back in Vienna, in a benefit concert given by his cousins Andreas and Bernhard Heinrich Romberg on 29 or 30 December 1796 (Küthen/NGA III/3 KB pp. 6-8, 12). Carl Czerny played op. 15 in a concert in Augarten on 17 July 1806. The Leipziger Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung (8, 1805/06, col. 728f) published a cumulative report on 13 August 1806, the specific date can be found in the diaries of Johann Nepomuk Chotek (Steblin/Chotek p. 27f). In 1808 Beethoven took part in rehearsals for a “Concert of Lovers” on 31 January, which also included op. 15 was listed. Before the concert he complained clearly about the poor performance of the pianist Johann Baptist Stainer (Steiner) von Felsburg (1756-1832) and strongly advised against giving the concerto. For this performance he probably composed the first of the three surviving cadenzas.
