Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37 (1800) {Badura-Skoda}

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 1770 - 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the classical and romantic eras in classical music, he remains one of the most recognized and influential musicians of this period, and is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time.
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Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 (1800)
Dedication: Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
1. Allegro con brio (0:00)
2. Largo (16:04)
3. Rondo. Allegro - Presto (25:42)
Paul Badura-Skoda, piano and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen.
Rec. 1957
Description by Roger Dettmer [-]
Beethoven composed this work in 1799-1800, and introduced it at Vienna on April 5, 1803. The first sketches go back to 1797 -- after he'd composed the B flat Piano Concerto (published as No. 2), but before composition of the C major Concerto (in 1798, published as No. 1). Although Beethoven played the first performance of No. 3 in 1803 from a short score -- no one was going to steal it from him! -- he'd actually completed the music prior to April 1800, apart from a few last-minute adjustments. In other words, before he wrote the Second Symphony (Op. 36), the Moonlight Piano Sonata (Op. 27/2), or the Op. 31 triptych for keyboard.
The model for this startlingly dramatic concerto was Mozart's C minor (K. 491), which Beethoven played in public concerts. But "model" does not mean he merely imitated; indeed, the orchestra's traditional first exposition is so extensively developed that the soloist's repetition risks sounding anticlimactic. Otherwise, as Charles Rosen has written with formidable insight in The Classical Style, "There are many passages in the first movement, Allegro con brio, which allude to Mozart's concerto in the same key...particularly the role of the piano after the cadenza. But the striking development section, with [a] new melody half-recitative [and] half-aria, is entirely original, as is the new sense of weight to the form." Beethoven wrote down that cadenza several years later, to preserve the work's character and momentum, when implacable deafness seriously disadvantaged his public appearances at the keyboard.
To his contemporaries the slow movement came -- and can still come -- as a shock. Not only did he mark it Largo (which is to say very slowly), in 3/8 time, but chose the remote key of E major (four sharps, vs. C minor's three flats). Alone, the piano leads off for 11 measures, introducing both the main theme and ornamentation that accompanies it throughout. Here Beethoven anticipated the solo opening of his G major Fourth Concerto five years down the road, although in that work he dispensed with thematic decorations, beautiful as they were (and are) in the Largo of No. 3.
Characteristically, the finale is a rondo Allegro, again in tonic C minor, with a pair of principal themes introduced by the soloist. This movement is rich in humor yet also dramatic, with a passage midway in E major to remind us where we've been. Following another (but brief) cadenza, Beethoven switches to C major, accelerates the tempo to Presto, and gives the orchestra the last word.

[@_PROCLUS]

💝💝💝 Many thanks for this rarity ... The wonderful Paul Badura-Skoda at his best and the great Hermann Scherchen. ... And the beautiful aspect of the rendition is that the soloist and the conductor are so in tune ... TY 🌹

[@Arteshir]

SOLID PERFORMANCE with rounded corners

[@loveclassicalmusicalot]

Oh my goodness! Very awesome piano concerto. Absolutely love the coda to the third movement.

[@lorenzopone869]

I have to add though, that in our one to one lesson during the nearly 10 year since I’ve studied under his guidance, whenever we went back to Beethoven 3rd, for some competitions or recitals, he taught me to begin the very first scales in a non “clean” way. He demonstrated and convinced me to play them like a violent, stormy burst of energy, with pedal, still keeping the clarity, but being a way less “classical” in the approach. The mature Badura-Skoda reserved some surprises like this, as when we were working on the third movement Beethoven’s Op. 26: generous overpedalling in the middle section was his extremely creative and useful advice. What he taught me to care for was the Urspirit rather than the Urtext ;-)

[@dzinypinydoroviny]

That low d at 12:57 is absolutely exquisite.

[@notaire2]

Lebhafte und wunderschöne Interpretation dieses perfekt komponierten Konzerts mit klarem doch warmherzigem Klang des technisch fehlerlosen Soloklaviers sowie gut vereinigten und perfekt entsprechenden Tönen der anderen Instrumente. Der zweite Satz klingt besonders schön und echt beruhigend. Im Kontrast klingt der dritte Satz echt lebhaft und auch überzeugend. Der intelligente und geniale Dirigent leitet das hoch funktionelle Orchester im gut analysierten Tempo und mit künstlerisch kontrollierter Dynamik. Die Tonqualität ist auch erstaunlich hoch als eine Aufnahme von fünfundsechzig Jahren vor. Alles ist wunderbar!

[@lorenzopone869]

Thanks a lot for uploading. Paul was extremely happy and nearly proud, despite his extremely humble nature, of the whole Beethoven Concertos cycle recorded with Scherchen. Unlike many of his other discography achievements, after decades he was still very satisfied with this very one.

[@Dylonely42]

Thanks for sharing such good interpretations and such good music !

[@neilwalsh1213]

Such a piece.

[@Dylonely42]

13:50 17:13 22:23 34:14

[@olivierdrouin2701]

Les mouvements lents des 4 et 5° sont insurpassables dans leur genre ( gravité et désincarnation ).. Mais après tout , n en serait il pas de même pour ce largo ?

[@christophedevos3760]

This is possible a stupid remark, but I'm mystified by the second movement, the tonality first of all, and then the notation in 3/8, which is not exactly easy to read (and find quite often with Beethoven I believe).Any explanation?

[@wenchaodu1235]

Almost as good as Mozart’s piano concerto in the same key :)

[@Pawel_Malecki]

Compared to Mozart's 24 in C minor (and 20 in D minor, and 23 in A major, and...) Beethoven's is almost regressive in terms of expression. Still shocks me the gap between this and Hummel's A minor is only 16 years - Hummel's sounds a few decades ahead, not just 16 years.