Concerto for Piano & Orchestra in E flat major (1784)

Biamonti 10; WoO 4
Among the papers found at Beethoven's death was the manuscript for this early concerto which has been treated exhaustively in Plantinga's tome: Beethoven Concertos: History, Style, Performance. The manuscript, a piano reduction that includes indications of Tutti and Solo and certain instrumental colors, is in the hand of a copyist with certain corrections by Beethoven. From this, Willy Hess, the Swiss musicologist and composer, created a performing edition. The result is a three-movement work in a galant style, nothing particularly remarkable. The themes are not chiseled as we would expect them to be in later Beethoven, the piano lacks thematic elegance and instead is a strong representative of the arpeggio school of piano concerto writing, going so far as to avoid the "theme" in the first movement. The Rondo has a catchy tune and a sprint into the minor, but all in all the concerto is nothing special. While it seems likely that this was composed for Beethoven to play, Plantinga reports that there is no documentary evidence of this.