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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Concerto for Piano No. 5 in E-flat Major, “Emperor”
Composed: 1809-11
Premiered: 1811, Vienna
Duration: 38 minutes

Beethoven composed his Fifth Piano Concerto under difficult circumstances. In 1809, for the second time in less than a decade, the French set out to invade Vienna, but this time the Imperial Austrian government resolved to resist. It was a disastrous decision. After a night of heavy artillery bombardment, which Beethoven spent in a cellar with pillows over his head to try to spare what was left of his hearing, the city surrendered. The victorious Napoleon marched in and established himself in the Palace of Schönbrunn. He ordered the destruction of Vienna’s fortifications, so that the city would forever be defenceless. It was just a symbolic gesture of humiliation – the walls had proved useless against modern weapons. Following this defeat, Beethoven’s aristocratic patrons fled, leaving him with little money. What money he had was worth less and less, as severe shortages of food and fuel drove up prices. For several months, life was pretty miserable.

Despite these difficulties, Beethoven continued to compose, though at a reduced rate. In the circumstances, it is surprising that the Fifth Piano Concerto is not just optimistic in sound, but triumphantly military. The scope of the Fifth Piano Concerto is grander than that of any previous concerto by Beethoven or anyone else. The compass and sonority of the piano had recently been enlarged again, and Beethoven took full advantage of these improvements.

He starts the work with a grand cadenza-like flourish for the piano alone, as though to demonstrate the power of the new instrument. By this time, Beethoven was no longer able to do justice to the solo part himself, and the premiere was played by another pianist. Perhaps for this reason, he did not provide an opportunity for an improvised cadenza, but retained tight control over the whole work. After the heroic opening movement, the middle movement is a dreamy adagio in the remote key of B Major. This is linked directly to the finale, but how to return to the home key? Beethoven’s solution is simple and dramatic: the B-natural at the end of the slow movement drops by a semitone to B-flat, and away he goes into the allegro, which tears along in its oddly jerky rhythm, its accents falling in all the “wrong” places.  

The title Emperor (which seems to be used only in English-speaking countries) became attached to the Fifth Piano Concerto later; Beethoven would surely have rejected the idea of celebrating the victories of the emperor whose name he had erased from the title page of the Eroica. It says little about this work; it is merely intended to indicate its grandeur. On the other hand, as one commentator put it, “The world would be a happier place if such an emperor as is portrayed in this concerto had ever lived.”

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Concerto for Piano No. 5 in E-flat Major, “Emperor”
Composed: 1809-11
Premiered: 1811, Vienna
Duration: 38 minutes

Beethoven composed his Fifth Piano Concerto under difficult circumstances. In 1809, for the second time in less than a decade, the French set out to invade Vienna, but this time the Imperial Austrian government resolved to resist. It was a disastrous decision. After a night of heavy artillery bombardment, which Beethoven spent in a cellar with pillows over his head to try to spare what was left of his hearing, the city surrendered. The victorious Napoleon marched in and established himself in the Palace of Schönbrunn. He ordered the destruction of Vienna’s fortifications, so that the city would forever be defenceless. It was just a symbolic gesture of humiliation – the walls had proved useless against modern weapons. Following this defeat, Beethoven’s aristocratic patrons fled, leaving him with little money. What money he had was worth less and less, as severe shortages of food and fuel drove up prices. For several months, life was pretty miserable.

Despite these difficulties, Beethoven continued to compose, though at a reduced rate. In the circumstances, it is surprising that the Fifth Piano Concerto is not just optimistic in sound, but triumphantly military. The scope of the Fifth Piano Concerto is grander than that of any previous concerto by Beethoven or anyone else. The compass and sonority of the piano had recently been enlarged again, and Beethoven took full advantage of these improvements.

He starts the work with a grand cadenza-like flourish for the piano alone, as though to demonstrate the power of the new instrument. By this time, Beethoven was no longer able to do justice to the solo part himself, and the premiere was played by another pianist. Perhaps for this reason, he did not provide an opportunity for an improvised cadenza, but retained tight control over the whole work. After the heroic opening movement, the middle movement is a dreamy adagio in the remote key of B Major. This is linked directly to the finale, but how to return to the home key? Beethoven’s solution is simple and dramatic: the B-natural at the end of the slow movement drops by a semitone to B-flat, and away he goes into the allegro, which tears along in its oddly jerky rhythm, its accents falling in all the “wrong” places.  

The title Emperor (which seems to be used only in English-speaking countries) became attached to the Fifth Piano Concerto later; Beethoven would surely have rejected the idea of celebrating the victories of the emperor whose name he had erased from the title page of the Eroica. It says little about this work; it is merely intended to indicate its grandeur. On the other hand, as one commentator put it, “The world would be a happier place if such an emperor as is portrayed in this concerto had ever lived.”

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.