The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, (known as the Emperor Concerto in English-speaking countries) was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven composed the concerto in 1809 under salary in Vienna, and he dedicated it to Archduke Rudolf, who was his patron, friend, and pupil. Its public premiere was on 28 November 1811 in Leipzig, with Friedrich Schneider as the soloist and Johann Philipp Christian Schulz conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Beethoven, usually the soloist, could not perform due to declining hearing. The work’s military aspects and symbolism characterise its heroic style. Beethoven used novel approaches with the piece, such as beginning the solo entrance without orchestral introduction, lengthening the concerto, and creating a new relationship between piano and orchestra. The origin of the epithet Emperor is uncertain; it may have been coined by Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher of the concerto. The concerto has no association with any emperor, and according to Donald Tovey and Betsy Schwarm, Beethoven would have disliked it due to his disapproval of Napoleon’s conquest. As part of his repertoire, Franz Liszt frequently performed the concerto throughout his life. Since 1912, it has been recorded numerous times by classical pianists.
The concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭ (clarinet 1 playing in A in movement 2), two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani in E♭ and B♭, and strings. In the second movement, the 2nd flute, 2nd clarinet, trumpets, and timpani are tacet. The concerto is divided into the following three movements:
Allegro in E♭ major, (44)
The first movement is longer than any that Beethoven had previously composed in the piano concerto genre. Beethoven adhered to the traditional sonata form but significantly redefined the interaction between piano and orchestra. The opening cadenza precedes orchestral exposition, solo exposition, development, recapitulation, written cadenza, and a coda. The concerto opens with the orchestra offering three sonorous chords. The solo piano responds to each chord with flourishes of arpeggios, trills, and scales. This opening was new in classical concertos, and the flourishes almost became thematic. The propulsive first theme follows, and the expository material repeats with variations, virtuoso figurations, and modified harmonies. The second theme, a march, appears first in B minor form in the strings, then thematically shifts to C-flat major by the horns. Throughout the movement, Beethoven transforms these themes into a range of keys, moods, and figurations. Following the opening, the movement follows Beethoven’s three-theme sonata structure for a concerto. The orchestral exposition is a two-theme sonata exposition. The second exposition with the piano introduces a triumphant, virtuosos third theme that belongs solely to the solo instrument, a trademark of Beethoven’s concertos. The coda elaborates upon the open-ended first theme, building intensity before finishing with a final climactic arrival at the tonic E♭ major.
Adagio un poco mosso in B major, (44)
The second movement in B major forms a quiet nocturne for the solo piano, muted strings, and wind instruments that converse with the solo piano. The movement briefly changes to D major, a very remote key from the concerto’s E♭ major. The third movement begins without interruption when a lone bassoon note B drops a semitone to B♭, the dominant of the tonic key E♭. The end of the second movement builds directly into the third. Beethoven uses B major as a “surprise” key for abrupt distant key relationships. This resolves to B♭ in the transition to the last movement.
Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo in E♭ major, (68)
Like the Appassionata sonata and the Violin Concerto, the score is notated with attacca to indicate little to no break with the previous movement which did not end with complete closure. The final movement of the concerto is a seven-part rondo form (ABACABA). The solo piano introduces the main theme before the orchestra affirms the soloist’s statement. The rondo’s B-section begins with piano scales before the orchestra again responds. The C-section is much longer, presenting the theme from the A-section in three different keys before the piano performs a passage of arpeggios. Rather than finishing with a strong entrance from the orchestra, the trill ending the cadenza dies away until the introductory theme reappears, played first by the piano and then the orchestra. In the last section, the theme undergoes variation before the concerto ends with a short cadenza and robust orchestral response.
