Ferdinand Ries: Piano concerto No. 3 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 55

Ferdinand Ries (28 November 1784 – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. He was, after Ludwig van Beethoven, the most significant composer of the city of Bonn.

Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven.
When sixteen-year-old Ferdinand arrived on Beethoven’s doorstep in Vienna in 1801 with a letter of recommendation from his father Beethoven was already at the peak of his fame. Beethoven welcomed his fellow countryman with open arms and gladly took him on as his piano pupil. In return, Ferdinand dealt with Beethoven’s correspondence with publishers, copied Beethoven’s scores and carried out minor personal commissions. For lessons in composition, Beethoven sent Ferdinand to his own former teacher, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger.

For much of the twentieth century the composer Ferdinand Ries was known primarily as Beethoven’s friend and biographer. During his lifetime, however, he was renowned as a virtuoso pianist and composer throughout the whole of Europe. Ries left us about 300 works. He composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, eight piano concertos, three operas, oratorios and numerous other works in many genres, including 26 string quartets.