Long-lost concerto inspired by Beethoven receives first publication

Dr Adam Swayne edited and led the publication of the first version of Ferdinand Ries’s earliest piano concerto. 

The concerto was composed more than 200 years ago by Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), who was Beethoven’s pupil, close friend and trusted colleague. At the time of writing the concerto, Ries had recently completed studies with Beethoven in Vienna. During this time, he worked as a copyist on pieces including the Eroica Symphony and Triple Concerto. Ries also assumed the role of piano soloist in a performance of Beethoven’s Concerto No.3 in C minor.

The manuscript of the concerto, written in 1806 when Ries was just 22 years old, was discovered by pianist Dr Adam Swayne (RNCM Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies) in the State Library of Berlin during his doctoral research in 2005. Swayne subsequently premiered the rediscovered work in 2022 with the Musicians of All Saints in Brighton, conducted by Andrew Sherwood.

Swayne has since edited and prepared the manuscript, which has recently been published for the first time by AR Editions (USA). This new edition, Grand concert pour le pianoforte, is now available internationally as part of the prestigious ‘Recent Researches in Music’ series. Alongside the new score, Swayne has written a 10,000-word commentary to accompany the edition.

“Ries later revised this concerto extensively and published it as Opus 123. However, this first version includes a much more substantial role for the orchestra. The dramatic dialogue between piano and orchestra clearly shows the influence of Beethoven at a time before concertos became mere virtuosic vehicles for soloists. It is a fascinating addition to the concerto canon and reveals important new understandings of trends in 19th-century music”.

—- Dr Adam Swayne (RNCM Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies)

Following the publication, Swayne plans to produce a recording of the concerto in its first and revised versions. He also plans to organise a conference / study day attended by 19th-century scholars and members of the Ferdinand Ries Society. This continues an upsurge in interest in the music of Ferdinand Ries following the recording cycles of the symphonies by the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and, in a recently acclaimed new series, the Tapiola Sinfonietta.

25 March 2026