A hermeneutic approach to word cues in the score of Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 in G Major for Pianoforte and Orchestra, Op. 58

Beethoven begins Concerto No. 4 in G major with the solo piano announcing the opening theme as p dolce. The piano continues to have a prominent position before the thematic material of the concerto, as can be noted through the frequent presence of expressive word cues in the score (for example, dolce and espressivo). These word cues assist in maintaining the pastoral mood, which appears in the opening theme, and serve to highlight the depth of pathos the piano soloist can achieve in subsequent transformations of tutti themes. This chapter offers a close reading of these word cues throughout the concerto through a hermeneutic approach. This method also elaborates on the relevance of Beethoven’s Erard piano in the compositional process. Further comments are made on contemporary performance practice to shed light on perplexing examples of word cues in the concerto with respect to the range of the theme they apply to or the thematic material itself. Expressive word cues in the score of the Fourth Piano Concerto are thus shown on one hand to offer a greater spectrum of expression for the piano soloist, often suggesting an evolution within the thematic material, and help form a more complex understanding of the pastoral genre; on the other hand, the expressive word cues for the orchestral instruments in the third movement reveal the significance of specific thematic fragments for the movement as a whole.