Violin Concerto in C (Beethoven)

The Violin Concerto in C major, WoO 5 is a concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven dating from between 1790 and 1792.

Description

Only a 259-bar fragment of the first movement in Beethoven's handwriting survives, and is kept in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. There is extensive debate about whether this fragment represents a part of a finished movement (or indeed an entire concerto), the rest of which has subsequently been lost, or whether the movement was never completed.[1]

The work is scored for solo violin, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.[1]

Completions

On a number of occasions since its rediscovery in 1870, the work has undergone several attempts at reconstructions by others, including Josef Hellmesberger, Juan Manen, August Wilhelmj, Wilfried Fischer, and Cees Nieuwenhuizen - often with considerable criticism with the way the work has been handled.

The first scholarly edition of the work was published by Willy Hess in 1961.[2]

References

Notes

1. Stowell 1998, p. 4
2. Stowell 1998, pp. 5–6

Sources

• Stowell, Robin (1998). Beethoven: Violin Concerto. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45159-0.