Only a 259-bar fragment of the first movement in Beethoven's handwriting survives, and is kept in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. There is extensive debate about whether this fragment represents a part of a finished movement (or indeed an entire concerto), the rest of which has subsequently been lost, or whether the movement was never completed.[1]
The work is scored for solo violin, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.[1]
Completions
On a number of occasions since its rediscovery in 1870, the work has undergone several attempts at reconstructions by others, including Josef Hellmesberger, Juan Manen, August Wilhelmj, Wilfried Fischer, and Cees Nieuwenhuizen - often with considerable criticism with the way the work has been handled.
The first scholarly edition of the work was published by Willy Hess in 1961.[2]
