Piano Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven)

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The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed primarily between 1787 and 1789, although it did not attain final form till 1798. It was used by the composer as a vehicle for his own performances as a young virtuoso, initially intended with the Bonn Hofkapelle. It was published in 1801, by which time he had also published the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, although it had been composed after this work.

The work is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings. It is in three movements:

• I. Allegro con brio
• II. Adagio
• III. Rondo. Molto allegro

The B flat major Piano Concerto became an important display piece for the young Beethoven as he sought to establish himself after moving from Bonn to Vienna. He was the soloist at its premiere on March 29, 1795, at Vienna's Burgtheater in a concert marking his public debut.(Prior to that, he had performed only in the private salons of the Viennese nobility.) While the work as a whole is very much in the concerto style of Mozart, there is a sense of drama and contrast that would be present in many of Beethoven's later works. Personally, Beethoven did not like this work much, remarking "not one of my best" to the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister. The first movement begins with a triumphant orchestral opening on the tonic chord, and maintains a playfulness while using chromatic passages to show off the soloist's dizzying technique. The second movement is characteristically serene and peaceful, while the closing Rondo brings back the youth-filled playfulness heard in the opening movement.

Ludwig van Beethoven
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