Triple Concerto in C Major

Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano, and orchestra was written in 1804 for his patron Archduke Rudolph, who had begun studying with the composer a year earlier. Since the archduke had relatively limited abilities as a keyboard player, Beethoven designed the piano part of the Triple Concerto to be far more modest in its technical demands than the solo violin and cello parts, both of which required performers of considerable virtuosity. Yet in this particular work, Beethoven places the spotlight firmly on the cello, which introduces almost all the important thematic material before the other solo instruments engage in the musical dialogue. Furthermore, because the ideas are shared between three solo instruments, the orchestra plays a somewhat subsidiary role, with the notable exception of the imposing passage at the beginning of the broad and expansive first movement. In contrast, the ensuing “Largo”, opening with beautifully veiled writing for muted strings and featuring one of Beethoven’s most expressive melodies, is surprisingly short. Indeed, it hardly gets going before Beethoven launches us directly into the finale, a boisterous “Rondo alla Polacca” with an exhilarating and showy middle section. The first known public performance of the Triple Concerto took place in May 1808 in Vienna, though on this particular occasion it was received somewhat coolly—a failing attributed more to the variable capabilities of the original performers than to the quality of Beethoven’s work.