Beethoven was a musical revolutionary. The very size and loudness of his 3rd Symphony, The Eroica, challenged the accepted musical conventions of his time, and provided the foundations upon which later composers would build. The epic, all embracing symphonies of the Late Romantic period of music (epitomised by Bruckner and then Mahler ) would not have existed without the inspiration provided by Beethoven.      

He was also revolutionary in subtler, softer ways. For example, concertos(1) written by most of Beethoven's contemporaries would  obey the conventions of the time; they would start with a loud flourish and provide solo parts that were overtly brilliant, virtuosic and focused entirely upon showing off the skills of the player. Beethoven, however, would sometimes start his concertos quietly, writing solo parts that were understated, reflective and lyrical. His 4^th Piano Concerto starts quietly, introducing the soloist not with a virtuosic flourish but with a reflective, prayer – like theme. 

Freeing the concerto from the shackles of virtuosic 'display for display's sake' enabled Beethoven to add emotional depth and expression to the concerto form, elevating it to a place beside the symphony in terms of its ability to explore and develop complex themes and ideas.   

So, part of Beethoven's genius lies in his eagerness to explore and embrace the possibilities created by challenging and breaking the musical rules and conventions of his day. What would happen if you challenged the rules and conventions associated with your own issues and problems? Would you too discover new possibilities and innovative, influential ideas?

The next time you are confronted by a problem you need to solve, think about the rules and conventions associated with it and ask yourself what would happen if you broke them. Ask yourself the following types of questions:

• What if you did nothing rather than something (or vice versa)?
• What if you built on strengths rather than eliminated weaknesses (or vice versa)?
• What if you sort dialogue rather than argument (or vice versa)?
• What if you started something instead of stopping something (or vice versa)?
• What if you took an understated approach rather than a high profile one (or vice versa)?
• What if you were flexible rather than rigid (or vice versa)?
• What if you looked at the big picture rather than the detail (or vice versa)?
• What if you questioned rather than accepted (or vice versa)?

Sometimes the rules associated with past problems will not help us solve the problems we face in the present. Sometimes we need to ask:

 'What if?' 

To listen to the opening of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto click Here.

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