Piano Concerto no. 3 in C minor, op. 37

The C minor concerto was first played on 5 April 1803 at the Theater an der Wien, in a marathon benefit that also introduced the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives. Ignaz von Seyfried, turning pages that night, found the manuscript almost empty — a few notes and blank staves, the solo part still in Beethoven's head. The key, the bare unison opening and the drop into E major for the slow movement all point back to Mozart's concerto in the same key, which Beethoven admired. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia received the dedication.