Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)

Lore & Background

To save his hearing, he fled to his brother's cellar and covered his ears with pillows. The work's heroic style reflects the war-ridden era in its military topics and heroic tone. Beethoven experimented with new techniques, such as the piano entrance beginning earlier than typical and with a cadenza. Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent him from composing music, but it made playing at concerts increasingly difficult.

Reader's Guide

The Piano Concerto No. 5 is significant for its heroic style and novel approaches to the concerto genre. Beethoven lengthened the concerto to approximately forty minutes and created a new relationship between piano and orchestra, making the pianist the dominant and directional soloist. The first movement is longer than any opening movement of his earlier piano concertos and adheres to sonata form with a written cadenza, forbidding the soloist from improvising. The second movement is a nocturne that builds directly into the third movement, which is in seven-part rondo form. The epithet 'Emperor' is of uncertain origin; it may have been coined by Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher. According to Donald Tovey and Betsy Schwarm, Beethoven would have disliked it due to his disapproval of Napoleon's conquest. The concerto has no association with any emperor. As part of his repertoire, Franz Liszt frequently performed the concerto throughout his life.

Did You Know?

• The concerto's epithet 'Emperor' may have been coined by Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher.
• Beethoven could not perform at the public premiere due to declining hearing.
• The second movement in B major builds directly into the third movement without interruption.
• The concerto has no association with any emperor, and Beethoven would have disliked the epithet.