Although many of Ludwig van Beethoven’s early piano concerti take cues from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s works, the similarity between the two composers largely ends there. We remember Mozart as a child prodigy, delighting nobility with his innate talents as a doe-eyed toddler. Beethoven’s musical upbringing was nothing of this sort; his father did not truly support his musical dreams. The composer’s father, Johann, often admonished, even abused, young Beethoven at the keyboard. Johann van Beethoven did want his young son to be likened to Mozart’s greatness, but his way of “supporting” his son was by tyrannical force, rather than encouragement. His father did allow Beethoven to perform, purely for money; at one concert, young Beethoven played poorly and his father lied about his age in an attempt to keep the Mozart comparison alive. Beethoven pressed on, and when he was seventeen his first real musical opportunity presented itself. 

Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, a German diplomat and major patron of the arts, was also from Bonn and saw teenage Beethoven in concert. Waldstein instantly saw potential in the young man and vowed to encourage his talent, soon making arrangements for Beethoven to study counterpoint with Franz Joseph Haydn in Vienna. The plan for Beethoven was to polish his compositions, gain notoriety among Viennese nobility, and return to Bonn to serve as Kappelmeister of the Electoral Court. 

While originally thought to have been written in 1794, composed expressly for his grand Viennese debut, scholarship now suggests that Beethoven had penned most of Piano Concerto No. 2 when he was still a lad in Bonn. Opus 19 is truly a youthful composition, full of lighthearted promise but surely lacking the complexities of the seasoned composer he’d become. 

Beethoven realized this, too; while he generally did not make a habit of revising his works after publication, he did often tinker with his works before relinquishing them to his publisher. In many cases, Beethoven had not even written out the solo piano part until he was forced to deliver it for printing. Beethoven’s second piano concerto went through many transformations before he’d finally send it to Hoffmeister for printing in 1801. He may not have worked on the entire concerto under Haydn’s tutelage, but he did revise the Finale with help from the great master. This is the version he would have performed in Vienna, 1795. 

Beethoven was a contentious student for Haydn. The childhood memories of his violent, authoritarian father surely did not prepare Beethoven well for lessons, but more problematic was that Haydn was a master of the Classical Era and Beethoven was a bull-headed twenty-something looking towards the future of music. On the heels of Mozart’s recent death (1791), Beethoven felt he might be the next great master of composition. He argued with Haydn and challenged all Classical notions, consistently breaking rules and denouncing all authority. Beethoven suspected Haydn of being a uninterested mentor, purporting that Haydn did not bother to check his counterpoint closely, if at all. What finally ended their relationship, though, was Beethoven’s fraud scheme. 

Beethoven made a habit of appearing impoverished with his generous (if not gullible) mentor. When Haydn wrote to Bonn asking for an increase in Beethoven’s stipend, the Elector wrote back that the boy was by no means lacking (Beethoven’s living expenses were paid and he continued to receive his yearly salary from the Court) and should probably cease his studies in Vienna. Haydn was aghast; their lessons immediately ceased. While the two would eventually repair their relationship—Beethoven would dedicate his Op. 2, published in 1796,  to Haydn—for now, the damage was done. While Beethoven did gain popularity in Vienna, as planned, he never returned to Bonn. 

Beethoven rewrote the Finale, yet again, in 1798. The primary issue with this revision was that it was two days before a performance. A colleague of his recounted, “There sat four copyists to whom he handed sheet after sheet as soon as it was finished.” When he did sell the final work to his publisher, Beethoven only accepted half his standard fee, humbly remarking that, “I really don’t give it out as one of my best… Still, it will not disgrace you in any way to publish it.” 

Piano Concerto No. 2 is certainly no disgrace. If in any revisions the rebellious Beethoven was trying to eradicate Haydn-esque elements of his concerto, this is his only failure. The first movement Allegro con brio follows a standard Classical script, and the multitude of chattery themes also recalls the great masters. Beethoven’s effortless cantabile flows freely throughout the second movement; the piano solo shines masterfully while supported by the gentle ebb of the orchestra. And finally, Beethoven’s humorous Rondo utilizes a folky theme, ultimately trotting happily to the end of the concerto.