About this edition
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19 occupies a fascinating position in the composer's output: though published second, it was actually composed first, with origins reaching back to Beethoven's Bonn years and revisions continuing well into the late 1790s. The young composer himself premiered the work in Vienna in 1795, performing the demanding solo part from memory, and the concerto reveals a Beethoven still steeped in the Mozartean classical tradition while already pressing at its expressive boundaries — particularly in the inventive Rondo finale, with its off-kilter rhythmic surprises and harmonic wit.
This score reproduces the concerto as it appeared in the celebrated Breitkopf und Härtel Gesamtausgabe — Ludwig van Beethovens Werke — issued in Leipzig beginning in 1862 under the editorial supervision of scholars including Julius Rietz and Carl Reinecke. The work appears in Serie 9 (Für Pianoforte und Orchester) as No. 66, bearing plate number B.66. As the first complete critical edition of Beethoven's works, the Breitkopf collected edition established the textual foundation upon which virtually all subsequent scholarship and performance traditions have been built, and its scores remain a touchstone reference for conductors and pianists studying the concerti today.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score (solo piano with orchestra)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Faithfully reproduced from a public domain historical source
- Source: Breitkopf und Härtel, Leipzig, c.1862, plate B.66
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This volume brings a landmark historical edition back to the music stand at an accessible price, drawing on a score that has long since entered the public domain. We hope it serves conductors, pianists, students, and scholars who want to engage directly with one of the foundational printed sources of Beethoven's concerted works.
