The Piano of Beethoven's Period
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Beethoven's first symphony was first performed on April 2, 1800 in Vienna. At this time, composition theory and practice was determined by a host of conventions and traditions that determined how each movement of a symphony had to be structured, what it was allowed or forbidden to contain and how to use melody and harmony. One of these rules was that a piece's first chord had to be that of its key, establishing the tonal structure. Beethoven caused a small outrage among traditionalists by breaking with this pattern - the entire 12-bar adagio introduction avoids the C major key entirely, teasing around it. The key is finally reached on the 13th bar when the main allegro part of the movement begins [20].
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