Origin: Composed in the early months of 1815.

At the end of December 1814, Beethoven apologised to Archduke Rudolf for his prolonged absence, citing as an excuse the charity concert of 25 December 1814 and another planned concert (which ultimately did not take place), for which he had “einiges neue im werden” (“some new things to do”) (BGA 760). One of these new pieces was probably the unfinished 6th Piano Concerto, which, according to sketches, Beethoven began working on at the start of 1815. Most of the documented drafts and the autograph score pertain to the first movement of the concerto.

The reason why Beethoven did not complete the 6th Piano Concerto remains unclear. Lewis Lockwood suspects that Beethoven abandoned it when he realised that he would no longer be able to perform the concerto himself due to his hearing disability (Lockwood/Concerto, p. 626). He had already withdrawn from performing as a soloist some time earlier. It is possible that his motivation to continue composing diminished as the planned concert for which the piece was intended never came to fruition. Additionally, it can be speculated that Beethoven set the work aside due to concerns about its poor quality and lack of feasibility. Nicolas Cook proposes that structural difficulties may have been the reason for the incomplete composition. Even in the later stages of writing, Beethoven seemed uncertain about the form he wished to pursue: a piano concerto or a symphonic work in one movement (an overture?) with an obligatory piano part (Cook/Concerto).

Cook’s performing edition of the first movement was first performed in 1987 at the University of Hong Kong and the Shanghai Conservatory (Cook/ConcertoEdition). The concerto was recorded by IneditaCD, our partner and supporter, in volume 4 of the series, conducted by the late Roberto Diem Tigani with the Orchestra of Sassari, and Maurizio Paciariello as the pianist.

Sketches and drafts:

1. PL-Kj, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Mend. stift. 6 (“Mendelssohn 6”), pp. 114-133. Dating: early 1815, facsimile: SBB, partial citations: Nottebohm/Beethoveniana II, p. 312, Cook/Concerto, p. 350, 352s.

2. PL-Kj, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Mend. stift. 1 (“Mendelssohn 1”), pp. 4-6?, 7, 9. Dating: around February 1815, facsimile: SBB, partial citation: Nottebohm/Beethoveniana II, pp. 314f.

3. US PR Scheide (Dpt. in: PRu), M. 130 (“Scheide”), pp. 1, 3-32. Dating: around March 1815, partial transcriptions: Nottebohm/Beethoveniana II, p. 321f, Lockwood/Concerto, p. 643.

4. RE-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Landsberg 10, pp. 79-82. SBB/, partial transcription: Lockwood/Concerto, p. 635, 642.

(5) GB-Lbl, Add. Ms. 29997, pp. 4lr-42r.

(6) D-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Grasnick 20b, pp. 21r-23r. SBB, partial transcription: Lockwood/Concerto, pp. 637, 642.

Autograph score, 1st movement, measures 1-256: D-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Artaria 184. Complete autograph, ends at measure 256; the order of sheets has been altered, some may have been added (Johnson/Artaria, p. 226, Cook/Concerto, p. 362f, and Roberto Diem Tigani).

Form: 30 sheets; 57 pages of musical text. Sheets 1r-30v, Sheets 14 and 18v are blank. Dimensions: 23.5 x 31.5 cm. Two types: (a) pp. 1-40 and 53-56: 16 lines; (b) pp. 41-52 and 57-60: 14 lines.

Provenance: Purchased by Domenico Artaria at auction no. 65 in 1827. Artaria Publishing House, Vienna. – Erich Prieger, Bonn, from 1897. – Acquired in 1901. Facsimile: SBB. Descriptions: Bartlitz/Catalogue. – Cook/Concerto. Correspondence references: BGA 760.

Bibliography: Cook/Concerto. – Cook/Concerto Edition. – Lockwood/Concerto. – Lockwood/Problems, pp. 44-46. – Nottebohm/Beethoveniana II, pp. 223 and following.