Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19

Composer: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
  • Beethoven began work on this concerto around 1788,1 and revised it several times before he published in Leipzig in December of 1801.2
  • Beethoven began writing this concerto before his Piano Concerto No. 1, but this one is labeled “No. 2” because it was the second to be published.3
  • It is likely that this concerto premiered at a charity concert at the Burgtheater in Vienna on March 29, 1795. Beethoven played one of his own concertos at this occasion, and research suggests this one was the most likely candidate.4
  • The premiere was one of Beethoven’s first opportunities to display his virtuosity to the Viennese public. Up until this point, Beethoven’s performance opportunities had been mostly limited to private performances in wealthy Viennese homes.5 
  • Many scholars have noted this concerto’s stylistic debt to Mozart: an understandable influence for a young composer-pianist trying to establish himself in Vienna. In fact, only a few days after the premiere of this concerto, Beethoven appeared in another Viennese concert playing a concerto by Mozart.6 
  • Beethoven dedicated this piece to a Carl Nicklas von Nickelsberg. Nickelsberg was an official in the Austrian Imperial Commerce Department and apart from this dedication, we don’t really know anything about his relationship to Beethoven.7

Sources

  1. Douglas Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed October 11, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040026.
  2. “Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19, (Beethoven, Ludwig van),” IMSLP, accessed October 11, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No.2%2C_Op.19_(Beethoven%2C_Ludwig_van). 
  3. Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Ibid.
  7. Michael Steinberg, The Concerto: A Listener’s Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 55. 

Cut IDs

15766 18789 19449 19515 22015 23367 23815 40207 41007 41901 45393