Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel; Piano Concerto No.5 in Bb, Op.31, StWV 152 (1791)

Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel (1750-1817) was a German composer. Beethoven and Schubert both cited him as an influence.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_...
IMSLP: https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Sterk...

Movements:
0:00 - I. Allegro
17:02 - II. Larghetto con espressione.
25:19 - III. Rondo. Allegro vivace.

He wrote 6 concertos of which I am aware. The first two are real recordings (not mine), the rest are my own transcriptions:
#1: Concerto in C, Op.20:    • Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel (1750-1817) - P...  
#2: Concerto in D, Op.26 No.1:    • Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel: Piano Concerto...  
#3: Concerto in F, Op.26 No.2:    • Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel; Piano Concerto...  
#4: Concerto in C, Op.26 No.3:    • Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel; Piano Concerto...  
#5: Concerto in Bb, Op.31: You're listening to it.
#6: Concerto in C, Op.40:    • Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel; Piano Concerto...  

The dedication on this one is a name familiar to me, one Anna von Schaden. She was a composer in her own right, one of the very few female composers from that time period that we know of, and I actually transcribed one of her 2 concertos early on in this project. Both of them were cowritten by Antonio Rosetti (a.k.a. Franz Anton Rösler/Roesler). I didn't post it because I discovered that they both had recordings available on YouTube, but at least at the time were credited solely to Rosetti.

This fifth concerto has two editions available on IMSLP. The primary difference is that only one of them includes the timpani part, making it the only one of Sterkel's concertos to feature any percussion (not counting the piano of course). One problem with having two scores to work from is that there are many subtle differences between them, mostly regarding the articulation and ornaments. The score I've used for the video is not the one I used the most for transcription, so you'll find that there are many places where it doesn't quite match. (I chose it for the video because it's in landscape format, which fits the YouTube frame better. The one I worked from was in portrait, which takes more work on my part to crop it into smaller pages.) There are unfortunately sections of the orchestra parts which are not reflected in the keyboard score, so it can be harder to follow along during those sections.

Like the first four concertos (but unlike the sixth), this was written to be played on either harpsichord or piano. I assumed this would necessitate a shorter run time, as harpsichords were known for not holding their tuning for very long. But while it's not as long as the 6th concerto, it is still one of the longer ones I've transcribed. It does have a smaller orchestra, featuring only 2 each of oboes and horns along with the usual strings and that timpanist.

As usual with these older works, no cadenzas were supplied, and so I've written my own. I'll probably never be 100% satisfied with my own composition, but I can only spend so much time on them before I need to move on to something else. There are still two more unrecorded concertos of Sterkel's that I may get around to at some point, but I'd like to take a break from him for a while and work on something else. Maybe I'll sterkel back to them later.

Disclaimer: Yes, it's synthesized. Obviously real musicians with real instruments would be vastly superior, but this simulated performance is better than nothing at all, which is what existed previously. My greatest wish is that these videos will inspire someone with the means to arrange a real performance and hopefully record and publish it so we can hear them in their full glory. If that someone is you, or you know of an existing recording of this, please let me know and I may add a link to this description.