Concerto C major op. 56 – Beethoven

In two private performances for Prince Lobkowitz in the spring of 1804, two new works by Beethoven were played for the first time: his Third Symphony op. 55 and the Triple Concerto op. 56 for piano, violin, cello and orchestra. The art-loving patron Lobkowitz was thus able to appraise two freshly composed works, and Beethoven was able to make many an improvement before publication. The first public performance of the Triple Concerto presumably took place only four years later in February 1808 in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. Since then, this work has belonged to the standard repertoire of every symphony orchestra. The piano reduction of this Urtext edition is based on the score of theBeethoven Complete Edition, which was likewise made by Bernard van der Linde. The editor’s preface provides detailed information about the complicated source situation of this concerto for three soloists.