Classical Music | Piano Music

Ludwig van Beethoven

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4, Op. 58 (Rondo Vivace)  Play

James Dick Piano
The Texas Festival Orchestra Orchestra
Pascal Verrot Conductor

Recorded on 08/20/2009, uploaded on 08/20/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major     Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven composed his Fourth Piano Concerto in 1805-06 and dedicated it to his friend, student and patron the Archduke Rudolph. It was premiered a year later in 1807 at a private concert, which also featured the Fourth Symphony and the Coriolan Overture, at the home of Prince Lobkowitz. Its public premiere took place at the famous marathon concert Beethoven gave the next year which also included the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies as well as the Choral Fantasy. This concert was Beethoven's last appearance as a soloist. Though the Concerto was well-received immediately after its premiere, it was largely neglected until 1836 when it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn. Since then, it has been a popular and important concerto in the literature.

As is expected of a Classical concerto, it is in three movements. It opens with the piano alone with the orchestra following later, not in the tonic key of G major, but instead in B major. This tonal relationship of a third becomes a prominent feature of the first movement. Making its way back to G major through the circle of fifths, the orchestra introduces the main theme and later a subsidiary idea in B minor, before the soloist returns to the scene.

The second movement, in E minor, has been described by Owen Jander as Orpheus taming the Furies at the gates of Hades. It begins with a dramatic theme played in unison by the strings followed by a consoling lyrical tune in the piano. The dialogue between the two continues with the piano answering each outburst of the strings with its sympathizing song. The movement concludes with a solo cadenza before a final shadowy return of the opening.

The finale begins in the "wrong" key of C major (a technique Beethoven used in several works), but quickly corrects itself to cadence in G major. It is a lively rondo full of optimism and joviality. The lyrical second subject presents a brief melody in D major, written in imitation in the strings, which subtly presages the spirit of the Ninth Symphony. The concerto comes to a close with a dazzling display of trills and arpeggios in the piano.

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Located in historic Round Top, Texas, The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts and its sole project, The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, were founded in 1971 by world-renowned concert pianist James Dick. Begun with a handful of gifted young pianists in rented space on the town square, the project is now an internationally acclaimed European-styled music institute for aspiring young musicians and distinguished faculty. Over a thirty eight year period and with the help of its patrons and friends, The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts has developed superb year round education and performance programs.

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