Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E♭ major, Op. 73—commonly called the *Emperor* Concerto in English-speaking countries—was written in 1809 while he was under a salaried arrangement in Vienna. He dedicated it to Archduke Rudolf, who served as his patron, friend, and piano pupil. The public premiere took place on 28 November 1811 in Leipzig, with Friedrich Schneider as soloist and Johann Philipp Christian Schulz conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Beethoven, who usually performed his own concertos, could not appear due to his worsening hearing. The piece is about forty minutes long and marks a shift in how piano and orchestra relate to each other, with the soloist taking a more dominant, heroic role. Its military overtones and symbolism reinforce this heroic style.

The first movement, marked Allegro, follows sonata form and is longer than any opening movement in Beethoven’s earlier piano concertos. The second movement, Adagio un poco mosso, functions as a nocturne and leads directly into the third. The final movement, Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo, uses a seven-part rondo structure. The nickname *Emperor* has uncertain origins; it may have been coined by English publisher Johann Baptist Cramer. The concerto has no connection to any actual emperor, and according to Donald Tovey and Betsy Schwarm, Beethoven would have disliked the title because of his disapproval of Napoleon’s conquests. Franz Liszt frequently played the concerto throughout his career, and it has been recorded many times since its first recording in 1912.

**Background**

Beethoven’s return to Vienna from Heiligenstadt in 1802 is often seen as the start of his middle, or “heroic,” period, marked by large-scale original works. In autumn 1808, after being turned down for a position at the Royal Theatre, he received an offer from Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother and king of Westphalia, to become Kapellmeister at the court in Cassel. To keep him in Vienna, Archduke Rudolf, Prince Kinsky, and Prince Lobkowitz pledged an annual pension of 4000 florins. Rudolf paid his share on time; Kinsky was called to military duty and never contributed, dying in November 1812 after a fall from his horse. When Austrian currency destabilized in 1811, Lobkowitz went bankrupt. Beethoven had to take legal action to secure payment, finally receiving some funds in 1815.

Beethoven felt the Napoleonic Wars reaching Vienna in early 1809 and finished the concerto in April, while the city was under siege by Napoleon’s armies. In a July 1809 letter to his publisher, he wrote that there was “nothing but drums, cannons, men, misery of all sorts” around him. To protect his hearing, he fled to his brother’s cellar and covered his ears with pillows. The concerto’s heroic style reflects this war-torn era through its military themes and tone. Beethoven experimented with new techniques, such as having the piano enter earlier than usual and without a traditional cadenza.

The public premiere was in Leipzig on 28 November 1811, with Friedrich Schneider as soloist. Beethoven’s hearing loss did not stop him from composing, but it made performing increasingly difficult. The Vienna premiere followed on 12 February 1812, with Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny as soloist. The English premiere took place on 8 May 1820, with Charles Neate at the piano; Felix Mendelssohn gave an English performance on 24 June 1829. Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s aristocratic patron, began studying piano and composition with Beethoven in 1803 or 1804. They became friends and continued meeting until 1824. Beethoven dedicated many works to Rudolf, including this concerto.

The origins of the nickname *Emperor* remain unclear, with no consensus. One unauthenticated story claims that at the first Vienna performance, a French officer exclaimed, “C’est l’Empereur!” Others attribute it to Johann Baptist Cramer. According to Donald Tovey and Betsy Schwarm, Beethoven would have disliked the epithet because of his disapproval of Napoleon’s conquests. He had earlier reconsidered the dedication of his Third Symphony, originally intended for Napoleon, after Napoleon declared himself emperor in 1804. Musicologist Yan Shen notes that scholars agree the concerto has no connection to any emperor.

**Music**

**Overview**

The concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭ (with the first clarinet playing in A in the second movement), two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani in E♭ and B♭, and strings. In the second movement, the second flute, second clarinet, trumpets, and timpani are silent. The work has three movements.

Beethoven began innovating in the piano concerto genre with his Third Concerto and continued through the Fifth. In Mozart’s concertos, the piano and orchestra worked together, and the soloist was a virtuoso more important than the composer. In Beethoven’s last two concertos, the pianist becomes the “hero”—dominant and directional—and serves as a vector for the composer. Beethoven also established the tradition of linking movements, especially the middle and final ones. Later composers would connect all movements to create unity.

**I. Allegro**

The first movement is longer than any opening movement Beethoven had previously written for a piano concerto. He kept to traditional sonata form but redefined the interaction between piano and orchestra. The opening section begins with an orchestral passage before the piano enters.