Ludwig van Beethoven

Concerto for Piano No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) completed his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor in 1803, not long after writing the famous letter to his brothers, the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he lamented his increasing deafness. He gave the first performance of the piece, as soloist, on April 5 in a public benefit concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. The opening melody in the first movement bears striking similarity to the first theme heard in Mozart's 24th piano concerto. As a whole, the piece provides an essential link between the Mozartean charm of the two earlier concertos and the more idiosyncratic work found in his "middle" period. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Piano.