Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56

Composer: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
  • Beethoven composed this concerto over 1804-7, and it was first performed in May of 1808.1 It is not known who played this first performance.2
  • Beethoven dedicated this piece to his patron Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz. Other works Beethoven dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz include the 3rd, 5th, and 6th symphonies.3
  • Beethoven probably wrote this piece for his piano pupil, then-17-year-old Archduke Rudolph, and two professionals: violinist August Siedler and cellist Anton Kraft. There is a marked difference in difficulty between the cello and violin parts and the relatively simple piano part.4

Sources

  1. Douglas Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed January 7, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040026.
  2. Lindsay Kemp, “Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56,” Hyperion (2005), accessed January 7, 2022, https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W15867_311578.
  3. “Franz Joseph Maximilian Fürst von Lobkowitz…” Beethovenhaus-Bonn, accessed January 7, 2022, https://www.beethoven.de/en/media/view/6301131948949504/Franz+Joseph+Maximilian+F%C3%BCrst+von+Lobkowitz+%281772-1816%29+-+Fotografie+eines+wohl+von+Friedrich+Oelenhainz+stammenden+%C3%96lgem%C3%A4ldes?fromWork=5529920004423680.
  4. Kemp, “Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56,” Hyperion.

Cut IDs

42813