Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (popularly known as the “Emperor Concerto”) could be considered either the last great concerto in the classical style or (because of its intensively powerful gestures), the first of the great 19th-century romantic concertos. Here, Beethoven is no longer writing up to his own lofty standards as a performer, but for the following generation,” wrote music critic, Herbert Glass.

The Emperor Concerto was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s patron and pupil. The first performance took place on 13 January 1811 in Vienna, with Archduke Rudolf as the soloist, and was followed by a public concert on 28 November 1811 in Leipzig.

The entire work lasts about 40 minutes and comprises three movements:

Allegro in E ♭ major
Adagio un poco mosso [a] in B major
Rondo: Allegro in E ♭ major

The second movement – a quiet nocturne for the solo piano, muted strings, and wind instruments – is an unforgettable passage that has been described as a “tonic for the soul.”

Listen: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli delivers a superlative performance of the Adagio movement under the baton of conductor Sergiu Celibidache, a pairing of pure musical genius.

Listen: The Adagio in its full seven minute glory, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sir George Solti (soloist: Vladimir Ashkenazy).