He was the English publisher of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5 and is credited with giving it its nickname, ‘Emperor’. Cramer’s commercial success mustn’t detract from his skills as a pianist. Ferdinand Ries recalled Beethoven’s opinion of Cramer: ‘Among pianists he praised only one to me as an excellent player: John Cramer. All others found little favour with him.’

Teacher Nils Franke gives a full step-by-step lesson on the piece inside Pianist 119.