The author of the widely acclaimed "The Symphony" offers a wonderfully informative look at the standard concerto repertory, covering 122 works from Bach to John Adams. 23 music examples.

The Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, WoO 4, is Beethoven¿s earliest concerto and probably his first work to use any sort of an orchestra. Probably composed in 1785, the work is a substantial one, with three fully-developed movements spread fairly evenly over its thirty-five minute length. A manuscript copy of the solo piano part (no full score has been found) contains all tutti sections as well as instrumental cues indicating an orchestra of two flutes, two horns, and strings. In 1943 a workable version for piano and orchestra assembled by Swiss musicologist Willi Hess was published, but it was a product of its time, and some liberties were taken (for instance, the endings of the second and third movements were changed). The present edition retains Beethoven¿s scoring and also features parts for bassoons, which would normally have played along on the bass line. The original endings of the Larghetto and Rondo have been restored, original dynamics are closely adhered to, thematic material is introduced at logical places, and interplay between the soloist and various instruments is featured at a number of locations. Beethoven tightened up this concerto by crossing out measures in all three movements, and these have been included in appendices.