b'PROGRAM NOTESLUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENConcerto in C major for Violin, Cello, Pianoand Orchestra, Opus 56, Triple ConcertoCOMPOSER: Born December 16, 1770, Bonn, Germany;died March 26, 1827, Vienna, AustriaWORK COMPOSED: 1803-1804, possibly written for Beethovens piano student, 16-year-old Archduke Rudolph, along with violinist Ferdinand August Seidler and cellist Anton Kraft. Dedicated to Beethovens then patron, Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz.WORLD PREMIERE: The first performance may have been given by Archduke Rudolphs private orchestra in 1804, but there is no documentation. Violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Beethovens friend and teacher, organized the first public performance at the Augartensaal in Vienna in April 1808.INSTRUMENTATION: Solo violin, solo cello, solo piano, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and stringsESTIMATED DURATION: 34 minutesU nlike Ludwig van Beethovens concertos for piano and violin, the Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, known simply as the Triple Concerto, is rarely programmed, and most listeners, even Beethoven fans, are unfamiliar with it. Documentation regarding the work is scant; even the most basic information, like for whom the solo parts were written, is a matter of debate. Some scholars believe Beethoven wrote the piano part for his student Archduke Rudolph of Austria, who later became his patron. Given the timing of when the concerto was composed and the relative simplicity of the piano part, this is a possibility. Others have speculated that although Beethoven may have written the piano part with the Archduke in mind, he himself performed the solo at the premiere. The other soloists may have been violinist Georg August Seidler and cellist Anton Kraft. Beethovens first biographer, Anton Schindler, who attended the premiere, declared,The Concerto enjoyed no success because the performers took the matter too lightly. We should take Schindlers comments with a grain of salt, however, because as critic Michael Steinberg pointed out, Schindler was a forger and one of the worlds most uninhibited liars. 1803 to 1804 was a productive period for Beethoven. In addition to the Triple Concerto, he began work on his famous Waldstein and Appassionata piano sonatas, as well as Fidelio, and also revised the Eroica Symphony. It is interesting to juxtapose the Eroica, with all its forward-looking innovations, and the Triple Concerto, a work that looks back to Baroque-era sinfonia concertante and concerto grosso forms. Both the sinfonia concertante (Beethovens original title for the Triple Concerto) and the concerto grosso feature multiple soloists accompanied by an orchestra. Unlike the Eroica, the Triple Concerto, which has been described as a concerto for piano trio and orchestra, does not make great demands on the listener. Beethovens friend and pupil Carl Czerny described the Triple Concerto as grand, tranquil, harmonious and lively. In this music, Beethoven does not overwhelm the listener with new ideas; instead, the Triple Concerto could be considered, in the best sense, a piece of salon music written for an evenings entertainment. Its most innovative aspect is the central role of the solo cello, which Beethoven used to introduce many of the Triple Concertos themes. srsymphony.org2025-2026 Season 15'