The combined Eastbourne and Hastings Municipal Orchestras
Conducted by Sir Henry J. Wood 'Irene Scharrer (pianoforte) from the Winter Garden, Eastbourne
It is curious that so little should be known of the origin of such a masterpiece as Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. No one can even give its date with certainty. Schindler. who knew Beethoven but is unreliable, says 1804 ; several writers say 1805 (without giving any authority) ; Thayer, greatest of Beethoven scholars, suggests the end of 1806. At any rate, it is certain that the Concerto dates from the period of Fidelia, the Violin Concerto, and the fourth and fifth Symphonies.
The whole work shows Beethoven in his most romantic mood. The dialogue in the slow movement between the strings in unison-harsh and adamantine-and the piano, which replies with some of the loveliest phrases ever written for the instrument, suggested to Schumann the idea of Orpheus pleading with the powers of the underworld for his Eurydice.