Meeting the Emperor in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 5
I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73
I'm Ludwig van Beethoven, and I'm about to walk you through the I. Allegro of my Piano Concerto No 5. You'll hear the orchestra introduce a smooth, gentle second theme in a major key, and then the soloist bring it back in a minor version that seems to march on tiptoe. Here on this site, my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so have a go yourself .
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How to Listen Without a Music Degree
Think of this movement as a conversation between one soloist and a large orchestra, and all you have to do is follow who is speaking. The strings are the warm, steady voice underneath, the flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons add colour, and the horns, trumpets and timpani give the music its weight. The piano is the one who steps forward, and I let it speak early, right after the orchestra's first chords. You don't need to name anything you hear, just notice when the mood turns bold, when it turns gentle, and who is carrying the tune.What's in a Name? Mostly a Speed Limit
I called this movement Allegro because that is the tempo marking I gave it, and it asks the players for a lively pace. It was never meant as a grand title, only as an honest instruction, much like a sign telling you how briskly to walk. The movement is in 4/4, so you can count four steady beats and march along, which suits its heroic, military character. Anything grander that people call this piece came from somebody else, and all I wrote here was the plain word Allegro.Choosing a Form, or Why I Left the Rondo for Later
For this movement I chose sonata form, which works a bit like a story told in three acts. First comes the exposition, where the main themes are introduced, then the development, where I pull them about, and finally the recapitulation, where they come home. I saved the rondo for the finale, so here the music is about conflict and return rather than going round in circles. I'll take the sections one at a time, so you'll always know where you are when you press play.Section 1: The Orchestra Has Its Say First
We begin firmly in E-flat major, and after the opening chords and the piano's flourishes, the orchestra takes over and lays out its themes on its own. The first theme is the martial one, with a firm, striding rhythm that sets the heroic tone. Then the second theme arrives in a smooth major form, softer and more rounded, like a deep breath after all that marching. The tempo stays at Allegro the whole time, so the contrast comes from mood rather than speed: confident first, then gently singing.Section 2: The Soloist Finally Gets the Floor
Now the piano takes the themes and makes them its own, adding runs and decorations that an orchestra alone could never manage. The big mood shift comes with the second theme, which the orchestra gave us in a smooth major and the soloist now restates in a minor version. In that minor form it seems to march on tiptoe, still a soldier's step, but one taken very quietly. Listen for how the same tune can feel confident in one moment and thoughtful in the next, just because its colour has changed.Section 3: Taking the Themes Apart to See What Happens
The development is where I take the themes apart and see how they behave under pressure. Fragments pass back and forth between the piano and the orchestra, and the music wanders through different keys without settling anywhere. The pace is still Allegro, but the sense of movement now comes from the shifting harmonies, and you can feel the tension building. At the very end the orchestra thins out until only the violas remain, murmuring beneath soft broken chords from the piano.Section 4: Welcome Home, Muddy Boots and All
That hush leads into the recapitulation, where the main theme returns in the home key of E-flat major with the full orchestra behind it. It feels like arriving back after a long walk, and the opening strength sounds even bolder because of the quiet that came just before. The themes return in a familiar order, but the piano and the orchestra now share them much more closely than at the start. The movement closes with the same heroic, military confidence it began with, so the story ends where it started, only after a much bigger journey.Your Turn at the Controls
Now it's your turn to hear this movement for yourself. Press play, sit back, and let the music carry you along. As you listen, keep in mind what we've talked about: the opening chords, the tiptoeing minor theme, and the hush of the violas before the return. I hope the journey thrills you as much as it thrilled me when I was building it.---
I hope you enjoyed exploring this listen guide to the first movement, the Allegro, of my Piano Concerto No 5. If you've come this far, I'd like to think the opening chords and the piano's quick answers now sound a little more familiar to you. Music like this tends to change each time you hear it, so I'd gently suggest coming back to the movement once you've had a little time away from it. You may notice a gentle passage or a bold turn that slipped past you before. There is still a good deal more to discover in this concerto, from the quiet nocturne of the slow movement to the lively finale that follows it. There is also the story behind the music, and the people who played it and loved it long after I wrote it. If you'd like to keep going, click on the links provided and wander a little further into my Piano Concerto No 5. I'd be glad to have you along.