In the 'Triple' Concerto, Beethoven avoided writing a cadenza for all three soloists by simply doing without one.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto opens with imposing virtuoso flourishes from the piano, rather than a gentle announcement of the main material.
Critical Reception
The 'Emperor' Concerto's all-conquering spirit led conservative Viennese audiences to complain that Beethoven had 'aimed beyond the comprehension of the common man'.
Composition History
Beethoven finished his Piano Concerto No. 5 in 1809, while Napoleon's armies were invading Vienna and his hearing was rapidly deteriorating.
Composition History
The 'Triple' Concerto was one of the first works written for Beethoven's distinguished piano pupil, Archduke Rudolph, one of the Emperor's sons.
Compositional Technique
The 'Emperor' Concerto reduces the traditional cadenza to a brief reflection before a massive final coda, one of the longest in the concerto repertoire.
Performer Biography
Elizabeth Sombart, the pianist on this recording, founded Fondation Résonnance in 1988 to bring classical music to disadvantaged audiences in hospitals, orphanages, and prisons.
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