Beethoven first studied in Bonn with his father, Johann a singer and instrumentalist and C.G. Neefe, court organist. At 11 he was able to deputise for Neefe and at 12 he had some music published. When he was 17 he went to Vienna but quickly returned on hearing his mother was dying. Five years later he returned to Vienna where he settled. He pursued his studies with Haydn, Schenk, Albrechtsberger and Salieri.

This concerto was in fact the fourth, as Beethoven composed an unpublished Piano concerto at the age of 14. This was the first to reject the dominant Mozartean style of piano concerti. Beethoven, had gradually grown to despise them. Here, by contrast, Beethoven produced a more varied and dynamic work rich in the turbulent emotions for which he was becoming known.

It was composed in 1800 and premiered in 1803, in Vienna. Owing to pressure of work there was enough time for only one quick run-through on the morning of the concert. Preparation was so rushed that the composer had not yet managed to write out the entire solo piano part, a fact that did not concern Beethoven at all. Since he would be the soloist himself, he planned to save time by playing mostly from memory. However, his page-turner found the situation unsettling. "I saw almost nothing but empty leaves," the poor man later recalled.

Rimsky-Korsakov, who studied piano and composition as a child, abandoned his early career as a naval cadet to devote himself entirely to music.

Rimsky-Korsakov was mainly self-taught, but achieved professional competence through disciplined study. At the age of 27 he was appointed professor of orchestration and composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire and he was a respected teacher.

Generally known for his colourful orchestral compositions, Rimsky-Korsakov also wrote songs and choral music, chamber music and works for piano. His textbook on orchestration has been widely used.

Of the various orchestral works by Rimsky-Korsakov the symphonic suite "Sheherazade", based on the book "Arabian Nights" is by far the most well known.

Sheherazade, with no detailed and specific programme, is based on the tales told by the princess Sheherazade, represented by a solo violin, in her effort to postpone the death sentence declared on her by her master, the Caliph.