Piano Concerto in E-flat major, Op. 73, Emperor
Composed 1809; Duration 38:00
On doctor’s orders, Beethoven spent the summer of 1802 in Heiligenstadt. Here, he confronted the emotional and physical fallout of his encroaching deafness. His return to Vienna saw a change of style, beginning his middle, or “heroic” period. His music was not only heroic for its confrontation of ailment, but it was grander and more experimental while touching on closely-held political beliefs.
His third symphony, the Eroica (Heroic) of 1804, was dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom Beethoven celebrated as a democratic embodiment of the Enlightenment. Upon the news of Napoleon taking the title Emperor, he furiously retracted the dedication and reassigned it to his friend and patron Prince Lobkowitz. By 1809, Beethoven was at work on his fifth piano concerto while Vienna was under siege by Napoleon's armies, providing a backdrop of drums and cannons. Prince Lobkowitz and a consortium of other benefactors, including the concerto’s dedicatee Archduke Rudolf, were funding Beethoven to keep him from leaving Vienna for work. Though his hearing loss never prevented him from composing, his appearances as a pianist waned, with this work premiered by Friedrich Schneider in Leipzig in 1811.
The origins of the work’s nickname, Emperor, are unclear and would certainly have been objectionable to its composer. The work has no tie to any emperor, except possibly as an implicit rebuff of Napoleon. The title appeared in an early publishing of the work and has stuck.
Beethoven’s middle period was significant for its wealth of innovation and played an important role in the proto-Romantic era, with the fifth piano concerto serving as a landmark contribution to the genre. Whereas Mozart’s extensive portfolio of piano concertos emphasized the soloist’s virtuosity and balanced the relationship between orchestra and soloist, Beethoven’s fifth concerto treats the pianist as an extension of the composer, while leading the orchestra as a protagonist in the work.
The opening was revolutionary. Before any orchestral introduction, the pianist initiates the work with a written cadenza (importantly, Beethoven asserted this was not to be composed by the performer). The movement is the longest of any Beethoven concerto, symphonic in scope with a three-theme exposition and thorough development of musical materials.
The exuberant Allegro is juxtaposed by the muted, nocturnal Adagio, set in a distant B major. The tender opening melody is answered by a twinkling piano, and the sonic palette becomes reminiscent of a music box. The coda returns to the principal E-flat major, and droning horns connect seamlessly to the exuberant finale. The playful movement features a heroic theme, carefree amidst the militant sounds of roaring trumpets and beating drums.