About this edition
Composed between 1800 and 1803, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 marks the composer's bold departure from the Mozartean concerto model and his first definitive step toward the heroic style that would define his middle period. The dramatic C-minor tonality — the same key Beethoven would later choose for the Fifth Symphony and the Pathétique Sonata — gives the work its searching intensity, while the luminous E-major slow movement and the rondo finale's dialogue between soloist and orchestra reveal a composer reimagining what a concerto could be. Beethoven himself gave the premiere in Vienna on April 5, 1803, reportedly playing much of the solo part from memory because the score remained unfinished on the page.
This edition reproduces the full orchestral score from Ludwig van Beethovens Werke, Serie 9: Für Pianoforte und Orchester, No. 67, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig (c. 1862), plate B.67. The Breitkopf und Härtel Gesamtausgabe — the first complete critical edition of Beethoven's works — remains a cornerstone of nineteenth-century music scholarship and the foundation upon which much subsequent Beethoven editorial work has been built. Its clean engraving, careful layout, and scholarly rigor have made it a trusted reference for conductors and performers for more than 150 years.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score (conductor's score) with solo piano part
- Reproduced from the Breitkopf und Härtel Complete Works edition (c. 1862)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches — practical for study and rehearsal use
- Sourced from a public domain historical edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This volume makes a landmark historical edition of one of Beethoven's most beloved concertos available in an affordable, well-presented format. We're pleased to bring this public domain score back into print so that conductors, pianists, orchestral musicians, students, and scholars can keep working from the editions that shaped the Beethoven tradition.
