Piano Concerto No. 1 in C, Op. 15

Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) early years in Vienna were marked by a gradual move away from the smaller salon genres toward the more public world of symphonies and concertos. Whereas Haydn dominated Beethoven’s progress toward success in the symphony, it was Mozart who clearly showed the way forward in the piano concerto genre. In the late 1790s he was working simultaneously on at least four concertos. Three have been preserved; the fourth exists only in rough sketch. The first piano concerto completed, a galant work in B-flat major, was not the first to be published. Thus Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, is actually the later of the two. Even without the details of publishing order, one can quickly grasp that the C-major concerto we hear tonight is a more mature, more ambitious endeavor than the B-flat concerto.
The opening Allegro con brio charts an expansive journey along a clear sonata-allegro outline. All is bright and facile at the start, the harmonic structure perfectly lucid and inevitable. A hushed first statement yields to a robust echo of the same. The orchestral exposition suggests an unfolding symphony, complete with first theme, transition, second theme, and closing material—all before the pianist has played a single note. With all material heretofore presented, will the piano part offer nothing more than reinforcement? Beethoven attempts a solution by digressing freely from the thematic progress. That is, only hints of the second theme are given to the orchestra. It will be the pianist who leads in presenting the full second theme in the appropriate key. Moreover, the pianist takes his revenge toward the close of this movement with a massive, five-minute tour de force cadenza. Czerny noted that no one equaled Beethoven in playing fast scales and trills. After such a display of arpeggios and dramatic cascades, a lengthy orchestral restatement or coda would have been importunate. Beethoven wisely rounds off the matter in just a few bars.
All the fireworks aside, Beethoven leads us into a serene A-flat major for the Largo movement. Ranging from reverential to dramatic and even stately, the Largo is one of Beethoven’s finest and largest slow movements. The influence of Mozart shows through in all the lyrical simplicity of the main themes and tender piano writing, while the symphonist in Beethoven bursts out via striking harmonic shifts, the grand scale (including a coda lasting over three minutes itself), and numerous mini-cadenzas.
The fleet Rondo finale starts without delay as a spirited piano solo, promising all manner of up-tempo hijinks in its clever left-hand noodling. Ever the master of the situation, Beethoven brilliantly controls the requisite returns of the Rondo theme. For instance, following a typical sonata-allegro exposition section—complete with first theme, transition, second theme—and even touches of development, we are led to a theme in F minor by way of deception. The theme quickly stalls on a G major harmony, which shows itself to be none other than the home dominant. Enter the opening piano solo and we are off into new realms. Beethoven will repeat the trick again, even stretching it out somewhat, but we cannot be fooled again. Rondos like this can project a spatial dimension, allowing the main theme to anchor departures into wonderfully contrasting material. Through it all, Beethoven—who would have been seated at the keyboard on opening night—pulls the strings, from the tempo to the length of his improvised cadenzas.

(c) Jason Stell