Weber's Konzertstück op. 79, or Programming Piano Concertos in Early-nineteenth Century Concerts (The Birth of the Piano Concerto, Chapter 5)

Abstract

A survey of nineteenth-century concert programmes would astound many people for various reasons. First, the length of each event is difficult to imagine for modern concertgoers. It was not unusual for a concert to last three or four hours. As the century progressed, the number of performed pieces per concert was reduced and concerts were shortened; this trend was already perceptible by the middle of the century (Schwab 1971: 15). However, nineteenthcentury concerts in general were still longer than most in the twenty-first century in Japan, where we are accustomed to events lasting from 7‒9 pm. Today, for example, most Japanese music admirers would be surprised at the length of events such as a concert programmed by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770‒1827) on 2 April 1800 that featured seven works, including a symphony of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756‒91) and one of Beethoven (the premiere of his first symphony). The constitution of a concert series at the Music Academy in Berne in 1803 shows that some restriction was necessary to stop concerts from becoming excessively long.