Piano Concerto No 0

[Sydney Leon]

I heard today for the first time of a so-called Piano Concerto No 0 by Beethoven, and tried a quick web search for information, but came up blank, except for references to recordings. Can anyone enlighten me or refer me to a website where OI could learn more?

[Rod]

Originally posted by Sydney Leon:
I heard today for the first time of a so-called Piano Concerto No 0 by Beethoven, and tried a quick web search for information, but came up blank, except for references to recordings. Can anyone enlighten me or refer me to a website where OI could learn more?

The concerto occasionally refered to as No.0 is officially listed as WoO4, composed circa 1784. There are a few recordings of it available (I have 2). You can find out further info within the Beethoven Reference site. The notes in one of my recordings (by the conductor) questions its authenticity, but the piano part is stylistically similar to that found in B's 'Electoral' sonatas (WoO47) of 1783, whose authenticity is not in doubt. Also one can hear passages reminisent of other B works in this piece - harking back to the above sonatas, and forward to one of the Romances for violin and orch. We only have the piano part, the orchestration was completed by Willy Hess based on piano indications in the score.

Rod

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Stephen F Vasta]

Originally posted by Sydney Leon:
I heard today for the first time of a so-called Piano Concerto No 0 by Beethoven, and tried a quick web search for information, but came up blank, except for references to recordings. Can anyone enlighten me or refer me to a website where OI could learn more?

Just to further compound the confusion, Beethoven's arrangement of his Violin Concerto as a Piano Concerto - not a particularly successful outing, IMO - is, of course, also a "Concerto in D." The recent Pommier/Menuhin recording, however, bills this one as "Piano Concerto No. 6"!

Steve
Stevevasta@aol.com

[Peter]

And the confusion gets even greater when you take into account the sketches for a 6th piano concerto Hess.15 also in D !! (see the concerto pages on this site for details)

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'Man know thyself'

[Roehre]

The concerto occasionally refered to as No.0 is officially listed as WoO4, composed circa 1784. There are a few recordings of it available (I have 2). You can find out further info within the Beethoven Reference site. The notes in one of my recordings (by the conductor) questions its authenticity, but the piano part is stylistically similar to that found in B's 'Electoral' sonatas (WoO47) of 1783, whose authenticity is not in doubt. Also one can hear passages reminisent of other B works in this piece - harking back to the above sonatas, and forward to one of the Romances for violin and orch. We only have the piano part, the orchestration was completed by Willy Hess based on piano indications in the score.

Rod

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

The recordings which were released up to the beginning of 2009 were all based on the 1943 orchestration of the two stave piano reduction by the Swiss music historian and Beethoven scholar Willy Hess.
A new orchestration has been prepared by Ronald Brautigam this year, who recorded this concerto together with no.2 opus 19 and the rondo WoO 6 for BIS (BIS-SACD-1792)