Page 5 - UM0027-Concerto in A major for piano and orchestra

bassoons, two horns and strings will be expanded in the later concertos; in the Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Opus 37 and Piano
Concerto No.5 in E-flat major Opus 73 , he includes two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets,
timpani and strings.

It is striking in this context that the Rondo in A major , in addition to the aforementioned thematic similarities with the Rondo in C
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major , also in terms of orchestra is similar to the Piano Concerto No.1 in C major Opus 15 . It is therefore quite possible that the
Rondo in A major is a fragmentary preliminary study for the later Rondo in C major and that the Adagio in D major , which precedes
the Rondo in A major , was a preliminary study for the largo from the Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Opus 37 .
In both slow parts, the orchestra is remarkably enough smaller than the rondo that follows. Beethoven uses only a flute, two
bassoons, two horns and strings in the largo of the Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Opus 37 and in the reconstructed Adagio in D
major a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.
,
In the final movement of the Piano Concerto No.1 in C major Opus 15 the orchestra is expanded with clarinets, trumpets and
timpani, an expansion that we also see in the Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Opus 37 .

I suspect that the Rondo in A major also has such an extension compared to the Adagio in D major: a flute, two oboes, two clarinets,
two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Because of the aforementioned problem of the accidentals and the
absence of key notation, one must still sometimes guess at the final result. On the basis of the above example, however, I opt for
the most logical composition of the orchestra.

The sketches of both the Adagio in D major and the sketches that I used for Rondo in A major all stem from the period 1789-1790.
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In the same period the Preludes Opus 39 and the two Cantatas WoO 88 and 89 were also created. It remains a mystery why
the composer finished one work but not others. Did the maestro have too little inspiration for larger, extensive works? Was there too
little interest, or were there too few possibilities for implementation? We will never really know the answer.

As already mentioned, there are striking similarities between the Rondo in A major from 1789 and the rondo from the Piano Concerto
No.1 in C major Opus 15 . The earliest sketches of this first concerto date from 1793 and a first complete score dates from the end
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of 1794 or the beginning of 1795. Beethoven played the first version of this concert probably on 29 March and 18 December 1795.
Therefore the early sketches that the composer ultimately used for the Piano Concerto No.1 in C major Opus 15 may very well be
based on the slightly earlier sketches, whereby there is a lot of similarity between the themes. The second lyrical theme from the
reconstructed rondo has much in common with the opening theme of the second part of the Symphony No.2. in D major Opus 36.
The first sketches of this symphony date from autumn 1800 to about February 1802.
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It may therefore be possible that Beethoven derived the material from the sketches that were initially intended for other works.
Beethoven also often referred to many earlier sketches. Thus he did not complete the song Der Kuβ until 1822 even though he had
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already written the theme in his sketchbooks in 1798.

Since 1822 Beethoven had been busy with his earlier unpublished works. His brother Johan wanted Ludwig to edit these works to
be published. Due to various health problems and his relatively early death, however, little came of this. Only a few early works
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finally appeared in print, including a piano trio and a terzett.

It is quite plausible that the master would have also completed the other works, including the Concerto in A major , if he had lived
longer. After all, he also had great plans to write new work and was busy with a tenth symphony and other fascinating ideas and
works.

Thanks to the sketchbooks and his many notes, it is still possible for us to image how a number of works might have sounded.

Cees Nieuwenhuizen, 2018

12 The first published Piano Concerto No.1 in C major Opus 15 is chronologically the third piano concerto. The Piano Concerto in E-flat major
WoO 4 from 1782-1783 is the first and the concerto that we now know as the second one originated in 1786-1792 but later after a number
of revisions appeared in November-December 1801 as the Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat major Opus 19. This often leads to confusion.
13 Zwei Präludien durch alle Dur-Tonarten für Klavier oder Orgel Opus 39, 1789. Published by Hoffmeister & Kühnel, Leipzig, 1803
14 Kantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II WoO 87, February-June 1790; Kantate auf die Erhebung Leopolds II zur Kaiserwürde WoO 88,
September-October 1790
15 1793, 1. und 3. Satz: D-BNu, Slg. Andreas Velten, page 64. Übertragung: Johnson/Fischhof. 1793/Anfang 1794, 1. Satz: GB-Lbl, Add. Ms.
29801 (ꞌKafkaꞌ), page 160r. Faksimile und Übertragung: Kerman/Kafka
16 The symphony appeared as Opus 36 in print at Bureau d'Arts et d'Industrie in March 1804
17 Ariette (in A) nach einen Gedicht von Christian Felix Weiβe für Singstimme und Klavier Opus 128. Mainz, in der Grhzl: Hessischen
Hofmusikhandlung von B. Schott Söhne, 1825
18 Among others, Piano Trio in G major Opus 121A, published in print at S.A. Steiner und Comp., 1824 and Tremate empi, tremate for soprano,
tenor, bass and orchestra in B-flat major Opus 116 also appeared at S.A. Steiner und Comp., 1826. Both works originated in the early 1800s.

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