»Eigenthümlich« und »Wunderbar«

Beethoven was considered a master in the field of piano improvisation. This study of Beethoven's Piano Concerto op. 58 shows how much his concertos for piano were also influenced by this, right down to the formal conception of the works. The "peculiar" concerto is unanimously described in research in terms of its 'improvisatory quality', but also in terms of its formal innovations concerning the concerto form. Against the background of this tension, the category of the improvisatory will be focused on as a primary analytical angle. With recourse to typical improvisation treatises of the time – first and foremost Carl Czerny's Systematische Anleitung zum Fantasieren für das Pianoforte (1829) – parameters oriented towards historical improvisation practice will be developed, which will allow a new perspective on the Concerto op. 58 with all its 'formal enigmas'.