Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56

Program notes

About the Work

Beethoven wrote this concerto in 1803 and 1804, the years of the ‘Eroica’ Symphony and the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, and it is the odd one out among his concertos: the only one for more than a single soloist, and the only one in which he gave a solo part to the cello. The three soloists make up a piano trio, and putting that ensemble in front of an orchestra seems to have had no precedent. There were plenty of earlier concertos for several instruments, but not for this combination.

Why he chose it is not certain. His early biographer Anton Schindler claimed that the piano part was meant for Archduke Rudolph of Austria, who was then in his mid-teens and became Beethoven’s pupil and one of his most loyal patrons. That would explain why the piano part is the least demanding of the three, with two professional string players to carry the weight. There is no record that Rudolph ever played it, however, and scholars have doubted the story. What is clear is that the cello part was written for a virtuoso, a member of the Kraft family (the sources disagree on whether it was Anton or his son Nikolaus). It leads off almost every theme, and cellists still count it among the hardest things in their repertoire.

The parts were published in 1807 with a dedication to another patron, Prince Lobkowitz, and the first known public performance took place in May 1808 at the summer concerts in Vienna’s Augarten. The concerto has never had the standing of Beethoven’s others. Three soloists each need their turn with every theme, which makes for length and a certain amount of repetition, and the piece is genial where its neighbours are dramatic. Heard on its own terms, as chamber music on a grand scale, it has a great deal of charm, and its breadth looks ahead to the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto.

What to Listen For

Allegro. The concerto begins very quietly, with cellos and basses alone muttering the main theme, and builds from there. When the soloists enter it is the cello that goes first, as it will in the other two movements. The movement is spacious and unhurried, and much of its pleasure lies in the way the three soloists pass ideas among themselves, in the manner of chamber music.

Largo. The slow movement is short, more an introduction than a movement in its own right. The cello sings a long melody in A flat major, the violin joins it, and the piano does little more than decorate. The music does not come to an end: it leads straight into the finale.

Rondo alla polacca. The cello slips into the main theme of the finale, a polonaise, the courtly Polish dance in triple time that was fashionable across Europe at the time. The mood is festive and good-humoured to the end.