The question we try to answer in this article is about the role of the soloist player in a keyboard concerto. Should this musician conduct the performance as well or just play the part? Who does what and how the traditions changed during the history of music?
The genre of the keyboard concerto was relatively new by the time Beethoven started his career. Regarding the role of the solo keyboard player there was no strict rule. Traditions varied by performer, by country and genre.
In J. S. Bach concertos, for example, the soloist fulfilled two roles: as a virtuoso for the solo sections and as accompanist director for the tuttis (playing together). This second role meant both directing the orchestra and playing a supporting part on the keyboard from a simple bass line.
At the end of the eighteenth-century roles of keyboard concertos shifted. Step-by-step the directing duties were taken over by the first violinist or a dedicated conductor. This was not a sudden change, in fact took place for decades and depended on local culture, as well. For example, the keyboard player’s direction stayed in habit longer in England than in the Continent, where by this time the first violinist was usually in charge.
It must not be forgotten that in this golden age of keyboard concertos a big orchestra was not the typical setup. Mostly these were house concerts hold in palaces of wealthy nobles, where the size of the orchestra, comparing to our times, was modest. Having a dedicated conductor was not a given.
Investigating autographs or contemporary prints of these concertos will not help in formulating opinion on how the composer meant to play it. First of all, there were different versions of scores for these concertos keeping in mind both the single player at home or a smaller orchestra. In many cases Beethoven in his manuscripts did not include the solo parts or just merely some hints for himself; leaving place for improvisations, instead of strict following of score.
In case of Mozart we have manuscripts indicating basso continuo and also the opposite, when the keyboard player was to refrain.
For Mozart, the concerto was a vehicle by which he could present himself as keyboard virtuoso and his new works. He did not rush to publish his concertos, only half-dozen of his works were published in his lifetime. Beethoven followed the footsteps of Mozart in this regard pushing the release dates if it was necessary for PR purposes.
As a summarization we can conclude that there is no one recipe for how originally these wonderful works were performed. Depending on the time, country, size of orchestra, musical genre or the virtuoso, directing could be the duty of the keyboard player, later the first violinist or a dedicated conductor. Manuscripts and prints could also differ as the masters left the solo parts for themselves and up to improvisation.
For more on concertos, read our article: The concertos!
