Every portrait of Beethoven seems to drive home the impression that he was a composer whose music was emotional, often sad, brooding, and passionate. And while that was certainly the case, the masterful Emperor Concerto is proof of the tenderness and beauty that runs like a thread through this great man’s music.
At the time of writing this concerto, Beethoven was very much straddling the divide between the Classical and Romantic periods. The work itself seems to be breaking out of conventional boundaries – almost as if a new kind of music is being born. The sheer length of the opening movement is beyond convention; the serene second movement flows directly – and unusually – into the finale; and the wonderful romance of the music looks ahead to a musical period that was at that time still in its infancy.
Here is the second movement from this amazing Concerto:
