2nd Piano Concert B flat Major, op. 19
Allegro con brio 15:21; Adagio 9:42; Rondo. Molto Allegro 6:32

Piano Concerto no. "o" E flat Major WoO 4 (First recording of the solo version)
Allegro moderato 11:34; Larghetto 9:15; Rondo 8:13

Rondo B flat Major WoO 6
Allegro 12:11

Total time 73:20

Annette Töpel, Piano
Harleshäuser Kammerorchester
Matthias Enkemeyer

Beethoven wrote more concertos for the piano than he did for any other instrument. He wrote them primarily for himself, since they allowed him to perform the solo part. Unlike sonatas, piano trios and other forms of chamber music, which do not necessarily require an audience and can be performed in private, the concerto is one of the genres which address an audience. It is therefore directly linked to public performance and gives both the soloist and the composer (who are of course in Beethoven’s case one and the same) the opportunity to dazzle listeners with astonishing displays of virtuosity. Of course, some minor composers contented themselves with using cheap effects to play to the gallery. It goes without saying that this was not something Beethoven was interested in. However, even with his high standards of composition, he must have wanted to win the audience’s favour, not least for financial reasons.

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E flat (WoO 4), written in Bonn in 1784 when he was 14, is a genuine rarity and this is the first recording of the only extant version, which was first published in 1888 in the supplement to the old edition of Beethoven’s collected works. The transcription of the three movements as a piece for piano solo belonged to Beethoven and has corrections in his handwriting. The orchestral passages are integrated in the manner of a piano reduction. The original score and orchestral material are presumed to be lost. In the 1930s, the Swiss musicologist Willy Hess produced a reconstruction based on the version for piano solo; it was first performed in 1943. This so-called “Piano Concerto No. 0” has never become as popular as the other five concertos, which were all given opus numbers and published by Beethoven himself. This is especially true for the solo version, which is the one recorded here. It is no wonder that hardly anyone is aware that this version exists, particularly since it is not available in any convenient edition.

This astonishing early work is full of delightful ideas; its virtuosity and enthusiasm add to its charm, while sometimes making not inconsiderable demands on the pianist. Records show that Beethoven performed this piece himself in Bonn when he was a teenager, showing a remarkable command of technique which foreshadowed the colossus he became.