Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 was composed in 1800, and first performed on April 5, 1803 with the composer as soloist.
As is standard for concertos, it is in three movements:
About two and a half minutes pass in the first movement before the orchestral introduction is intruded upon by C minor scales forcefully announcing the piano's entrance. The coda is similarly dramatic, emanating from very quiet trills, moving faster, resulting in a regal yet dark climax.
The second movement is in E major, opening with a much-admired melody for the solo piano.
The final rondo begins in C minor, ending with a presto in C major.
The concerto was incomplete at its first performance. Beethoven's friend, Ritter von Seyfried, who turned the pages of the music for him that night, later wrote:
"I saw practically nothing but blank pages. At the most I noticed here and there a few hieroglyphics which meant absolutely nothing to me, but which he had scribbled down to provide him with a few milestones. He played almost the entire solo part by memory; as was often the case, he had not had time to commit it all to paper."
