Beethoven C Minor Piano Concerto (op.37) Study

Beethoven was a great German composer and pianist, he was also theoutstanding representative of Viennese Classical Music. His musical compositionfollowed the classical style of Haydn and Mozart in 18th century, and also predictedand reflected the romantic style of the 19th century. His Piano Concerto No.3 wascomposed from 1800 to 1801, which was his masterpiece, indicating the maturity ofhis musical transition. The author of this thesis explores the unique composingtechnique of this work and the connotative "Beethoven's Spirit" in it on the basis ofan analysis of the work itself, and an exposition of the influence of the social andhistorical background between 18th and 19th century, his life and creative belief on thiswork. This thesis includes four parts: Part one describes Beethoven's life and his four stages of creation, illustratingthat his life and changes of environment exerted an influence on his creative beliefand style.Part two is the central part of this thesis. It makes a thorough analysis ofBeethoven's Piano Concerto No.3 from three aspects: creative background, factorsinvolved in the spirit and emotional connotation of the work, and structuralcharacteristics, among which the second and the third aspect are given priority. 1.Factors involved in the spirit and emotional connotation of the work: 1) social,historical influences on Beethoven's thought and his creative belief. This thesisexpounds these influences from a macrocultural viewpoint. And heroism andhumanism implied on his work reflected these factors. 2) Influences of previouscomposers: This thesis illustrates previous composers' influences on Beethoven'screative techniques, aesthetic belief and thought on Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor.3) literary and poetic influences. These influences exhibit the deep relationshipbetween Beethoven's composition and Goethe and Schiller's works, the latter is aninspiration of Beethoven's composition. Moreover, the humanism expressed in theirworks is pursued by Beethoven all through his life. 4) the influence of GermanClassical Philosophy. Kante's thought exerted great influence on Beethoven's spirit.Beethoven endowed his concerto with Kante's philosophy of conflict between"gravitation and anti-gravitation", so as to express his major creative thought. 2. Inanalyzing its structural characteristics, this thesis first explores the relationshipbetween baroque solo concerto and classic concerto, then analyzes its inheritance andinnovation from the following aspects: its structure, motivation of composition, thesignificance of choice of tonality and introduction of fugues.Part three deals mainly with the specific performing techniques, demonstratingBeethoven's performing style and major performing points.The conclusion part evaluates the status and role of Piano Concerto No.3 at thebeginning of 19th century, and points out that Beethoven's creative belief ofsurpassing previous composers and his innovative style endowed this great work withstriking artistic charm.