Only a single original manuscript, comprising 259 bars of the First Movement, has survived. Consequently, it remains uncertain whether this was originally a complete concerto for Violin and Orchestra that is now predominantly lost. Its date is approximately between 1790 and October 1792, before Beethoven’s final departure for Vienna. In reality, Beethoven’s type of spelling could lead one to think that it dates back to the late eighties, but the style that Beethoven uses here makes it close to the Cantatas composed in 1790 because: «(…) We are in fact faced with a strong, complex and confident music, such as to be part of an already advanced artistic evolution (…)».[1]

At present, four distinct versions of this movement’s completion exist.

The first dates back to 1879 and is by Joseph Hellmesberger who was the one who found this fragment and dedicated it to Gerhard von Breuning, Stephan‘s son, who called it “a new jewel“,[2]  given to us posthumously by Beethoven. However, this version is very arbitrary because there are several changes compared to the Beethovenian original.

The second was by Juan Manén in 1933 and was published in the same year, by the Universal Edition Vienna in piano reduction and, in 1943, in complete score; this, too, however, alters the original form of Beethoven’s musical writing.

The third of 1972, made by Wilfried Fischer and published in the same year by Bärenreiter, did not receive a favorable reception from Willy Hess who expressed doubts about the “breadth of the overall form“,[3]  also believing that it was “breaking the backbone of the movement“.[4]

The fourth, from 1999, is by the late Roberto Diem Tigani. Published by Bongiovanni in Bologna, it is the most faithful to Beethoven’s original manuscript.

Giovanni Carli Ballola, notes how in this movement: “(…) the virtuosic richness of the solo violin part and its exuberant intrusiveness go beyond the limits of Mozart’s Concertos, approaching the more pretentious and more “modern” models of Giovanni Battista Viotti  (…)».[5]

Additionally, Luigi Della Croce notes on this page: “(…) divergent from the colorful and jagged theme of Mozart’s concertos, are the frequent pauses present in the work. These serve as interruptions in the discourse and offer moments for reflection, before the final pause that conceals, perhaps permanently, one of the significant works of the young Beethoven_.” [6]

[1] Luigi Della Croce: Ludwig van Beethoven. La musica sinfonica e teatrale. L’Epos editore

[2] Gerhard von Breuning: Ludwig van Beethoven nei miei ricordi giovanili. SE editore

[3] James F. Green: Il nuovo catalogo Hess delle opere di Beethoven. Zecchini editore

[4] James F. Green: Il nuovo catalogo Hess delle opere di Beethoven. Zecchini editore

[5] Giovanni Carli Ballola: Beethoven. Biografie Bompiani editore

[6] Luigi Della Croce: Ludwig van Beethoven. La musica sinfonica e teatrale. L’Epos editore