Cocktail Party Fact: Beethoven arranged this work as a piano concerto as well–and not very successfully, either.

Commitment Factor: 40 - 45 minutes

Vital Statistics: Classical Period (1806). A three-movement concerto for violin and orchestra with an unusually spacious first movement.

What to Listen For: This is one of Beethoven’s most serene pieces, especially in the lengthy first movement. The most interesting point to keep in mind is that Beethoven knows that all of the tunes will, at some point, be played on the violin, so he has imagined them with that sound in mind. Listen to how natural they appear when the soloist finally gets to play them.