Piano Concerto No. 2 in Eb Major

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was one of the greatest pianists of his time and a composer of exceptional abilities. Ries studied pianoforte (but not composition) with Beethoven in Vienna and the two men remained on cordial terms for the rest of their lives. In the last year of his life Ries co-wrote a book of Beethoven reminiscences that remain one of the most valuable sources of information about his life and character. Ries composed prolifically in many genres and unsurprisingly left an important body of works for pianoforte and orchestra. The C major Concerto was composed not long after Ries completed his studies with Beethoven. The same year he wrote a piano sonata in C which, together with a sonata in a minor, composed two years earlier, in 1804, he published as his Op.1 with a dedication to Beethoven. The C major Sonata represents a considerable advance over the earlier work and opens with a theme that has some similarities to that of the first movement of the concerto. Unsurprisingly, the imprint of Beethoven can be heard very strongly in both works with echoes of the Piano Concerto in C major, Op.15 and the C minor Concerto with which Ries made his Vienna début. Nonetheless, the work is very different in some respects, none more so than in the quality of the piano writing which suggests Hummel rather than Beethoven in much of its detail. Ries’s handling of large-scale musical structures is confident and although he does not develop thematic material with the rigorous concentration of his teacher, he invests the music with great interest and variety through sensitive reworkings, the frequent introduction of new melodic material and the virtuoso’s fair for brilliant decoration. The lovely slow movement has a Mozartian poise and the striking opening with wind alone is a nice touch. The finale opens rather surprisingly with a cadenza before launching off into a cheerful, energetic Rondo that owes a good deal to the finale of Beethoven’s First Concerto.