Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4

Classical Music / Piano Concertos

Wolfgang A. Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began his series of preserved piano concertos with these four that he wrote in Salzburg, K. 37 and 39-41, the autographs dated by his father Leopold Mozart as having been completed in April (K. 37) and July (K. 39–41) of 1767.  Although these works were long considered to be original, they are now known to be orchestrations of sonatas by various German virtuosi. The works on which the concertos are based were largely published in Paris, and presumably Mozart and his family became acquainted with them or their composers during their visit to Paris in 1763–64.

The young Mozart seems to have begun to learn how to cope with the structural problems of composing in the piano concerto form by using movement from the sonatas of other composers. It may be that his father had devised this as a compositional teaching method.


Here's a link: Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4, K.37, 39-41. Produced by Decca in 12 videos. Artists: Robert Levin, harpsichord; The Academy of Ancient Music with Christopher Hogwood, conductor & director.  Accessed July 28, 2020.




Resource: 

Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4 (Mozart). en.wikipedia.org. 



(c) April 2018.  Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1

Classical Music / Piano Concerto

Hungarian composer Franz Liszt composed Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version is dated 1849. The concerto consists of four movements and lasts approximately 20 minutes. It was first performed on February 17, 1855, in Weimar ith Liszt at the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting.

Below, piano virtuoso Martha Argerich, remarkably interprets Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai Enrico Fagone, conductor.





Martha Argerich interpreting the same piece, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1,  with Daniel Barenboim conducting, this time with Vienna Philharmonic. Musicverein, Golden Hall, December 2017.(Uploaded by Cristian Radu. Accessed Nov 13, 2018.)

Video Credit:

Martha Argerich - Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. Youtube, uploaded by Excellent Interpretation. Uploaded by Max Lima. Accessed January 13, 2020.

Resource:
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt). en.wikipedia.org. Accessed January 14, 2018.



(c) 2018. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Grieg Piano Concerto

Classical Music Datebook: April 3

Edvard Grieg premieres his Piano Concerto on April 3, 1869, in Copenhagen. The concert was produced by Edmund Neupert, with Holger Simon Paulli conducting. Some sources say that Grieg himself, an excellent pianist, was the soloist, but he was unable to attend the premiere due to another commitments with an orchestra in Oslo (formerly, Christiania) Among those who did attend the premiere were the Danish composer Niels Gade and the Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein.

The concerto in three movements:

1. Allegro molto moderato (A minor)
2. Adagio (D flat major)
3. Allegro moderato molto e marcato (A minor → F major → A major)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor

Classical Music / Piano Concertos


Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, was written by W.A. Mozart in 1785. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the soloist in the first performance of his own Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor (K. 466), on February 11, 1785, in Mehlgrube Casino,  Vienna. He performed it without any rehearsal and the music sheets came directly to the concert hall from the copyists.

Few days after the first performance, Leopold, the composer's father, visiting in Vienna, wrote to his daughter Nannerl about her brother's recent success: "[I heard] an excellent new piano concerto by Wolfgang, on which the copyist was still at work when we got there, and your brother didn't even have time to play through the rondo because he had to oversee the copying operation."

Other works by Mozart in this key include the Fantasia K. 397 for piano, Requiem, a Kyrie, the aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from the opera The Magic Flute and parts of the dark opera Don Giovanni. It is the first of two piano concertos he wrote in a minor key, with No. 24 in C minor the other.

Franz Krommer

Mozart Contemporaries: Franz Krommer
 

Franz Krommer (František Krommer: born 27 November 1759 – died 8 January 1831), was a Czech composer of classical music and violinist. A contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his 71-year life span began half a year after the death of G. F. Handel and ended nearly four years after that of Beethoven. He died in Vienna.

His life highlights include the following:  From 1773 to 1776, he studied violin and organ with his uncle, Antonín Mattias Kramár. In Turany, he became organist along with his uncle in 1777. In 1785 he was in Vienna as violinist in the orchestra of the duke of Styria (now in Simontornya in Hungary.) In 1790, he  was named Maestro di Cappella at the Cathedral of Pecs, Hungary.  He returned again to Vienna in 1795, becoming Maestro di Cappella for Duke Ignaz Fuchs in 1798. From 1813, until his death, Krommer succeeded Leopold Kozeluch as composer for the Imperial Court of Austria.

Krommer's output was prolific, with at least three hundred published compositions in at least 110 opus numbers including at least 9 symphonies, seventy string quartets and many others for winds and strings, with about 15 string quintets. Today, he is best known for his powerful wind ensemble music.


Video Credit:

Franz Krommer - Concerto for Two Clarinets in E-flat major, Op. 91. Youtube, uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng2. Accessed November 27, 2017

Image Credit:

KrommerFranz. En.wikipedia.org / Public Domain

Resource:

Franz Krommer. en.wikipedia.org.  Accessed November 28, 2015.



(c) November 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Dvorak Cello Concerto in B

Classical Music / Cello Concerto


The Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191, is a concerto for cello and orchestra. It is the last solo concerto by Antonín Dvořák. It was written in 1894–95 for his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan, but was premiered by the English cellist Leo Stern in London on March 19, 1896. It is one of the most frequently performed of all cello concerti, admired for the richness of its orchestral music and for the lyrical writing of the solo instrument, in this case, the cello.

Below is a re-discovered recording of Dvořák Cello Concerto in B, a concert performed by the brilliant cellist Jacqueline du Pré, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. It was held in tribute to the people of Czechoslovakia days after the Soviet Union invaded. Filmed live at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1968.




The piece is scored for a full romantic orchestra (with the exception of a 4th horn), containing two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle (last movement only), and strings. It follows a typical standard three-movement concerto format of fast, slow, and fast tempi: 

1. Allegro (B minor then B major, about 15 minutes)
2. Adagio, ma non troppo (G major, about 12 minutes).
3. Finale: Allegro moderato — Andante — Allegro vivo (B minor then B major; about 13 minutes)

The concerto opens with a broad orchestral statement, bringing in the soloist after the initial themes are introduced. At this point, the soloist restates those themes in a new and more elaborate fashion.

The melancholy second movement quotes a theme from one of Dvořák’s own songs, "Lass mich allein" (German), which means "Leave Me Alone."  (The song had been a favourite of the composer’s sister-in-law Josefina, who then recently died. Having loved Josefina before he consented to marry her sister Anna, Dvořák here paid tribute to his first love.)  In the final movement, the composer builds a rondo structure, and in its final bars, we hear brief recapitulations of melodies from the previous movements.


Video Credit:

Jacqueline du Pré - Dvořák Cello Concerto – London Symphony Orchestra cond. Daniel Barenboim. Youtube, uploaded by blue8348. Accessed Novmber 13, 2017.


Resources:

Cello Concerto (Dvořák). en.wikipedia.org.  Accessed March 19, 2015.

Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed March 19, 2015.



(c) 2015-2017.  Tel Asiado.  Written for Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez

Classical Music Datebook: November 9

Composer Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra, premieres in Barcelona, Spain.

The Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo is first performed on November 9, 1940. It is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra. Written in 1939, it is considered his best-known work, and its worldwide success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the 20th century.

• Premiere: November 9, 1940
• Guitarist: Regino Sainz de la Maza
• Orchestra: Orquesta Filarmónica de Barcelona
• Conductor: César Mendoza Lasalle
• Venue: Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, Spain

This concerto is in the traditional three movements:

1. Allegro con spirito
2. Adagio
3. Allegro gentile

The second movement is marked by its slow pace and quiet melody, introduced by the English horn, with a soft accompaniment by the guitar and strings.

Video Credit:

Narciso Yepes - Concierto de Aranjuez YouTube, Uploaded by bonsillens, Accessed November 8, 2013.

Resources:

• Annala, Hannu; Heiki Mätlik (2008). Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers. Mel Bay Publications.
• Coelho, Victor; Jonathan Cross (2003). The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar. Cambridge University Press.
• Morris, Mark (1999). The Pimlico Dictionary of Twentieth Century Composers. London. Pimlico.

(c) November 2013. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A, K.622

Classical Music / Clarinet Concerto 


One of the best loved and most popular music composed by Mozart. It's heavenly. It's beautiful. Mozart wrote this famous Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, in October 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. The first movement is based on Mozart’s earlier torso of 199 bars of a basset horn concerto in G.  It was first performed by Stadler in Prague, on October 16, 1791. Reception of his performance was positive in general.  It consists of three movements, in a fast–slow–fast succession:

1. Allegro (in A major and in sonata form)
2. Adagio (in D major and in ternary form)
3. Rondo: Allegro (in A major and in rondo form)

Here's a highly recommended beautiful performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra; Cornelius Meister, conductor; Arngunnur Árnadóttir, clarinet.  From Iceland Symphony's concert, Harpa, Reykjavík, September 10th 2015. Youtube, uploaded by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Accessed January 27, 2019.


 

Clarinet Concerto in A was one of Mozart's final completed works, and his final purely instrumental work (he died less than two months after its October premiere). The concerto is notable for its delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra, and for the lack of overly extroverted display on the part of the soloist (no cadenzas are written out in the solo part).

More listening pleasure: 

 

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622 (Full). Clarinet: Robert Marcellus Conductor: George Szell Orchestra: Cleveland Orcherstra. Youtube, uploaded by BLOP888. Accessed October 16, 2013.

Resource:

Clarinet Concert (Mozart). en.wikipedia.org. Accessed  October 16, 2013. 




(c) October 2013. Updated January 27, 2019. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Samuel Barber Piano Concerto

Classical Music Milestone: September 24

The Piano Concerto, Op. 38, of Samuel Barber was first performed on September 24, 1962, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lincoln Center, New York City.  John Browning, soloist, and Erich Leinsdorf, conducting. It was commissioned by the music publishing company G. Schirmer Inc. honouring the centenary of their founding. It was the opening festivities of the Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall), the first hall built at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

American composer Samuel Barber studied piano and conducting, and singing with his aunt, a famous contralto of her time. he later developed a good baritone voice. He began composing when still a child, and later studied at the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia, graduating in 1932.

Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.5 in F Major

Classical Music / Piano Concerto


The Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103, popularly known as "The Egyptian", was Camille Saint-Saens' last piano concerto. He wrote it in 1896, 20 years after his Fourth Piano Concerto. This concerto is nicknamed "The Egyptian" for two reasons. Firstly, Saint-Saëns composed it in the temple town of Luxor while on one of his winter vacations to Egypt. Secondly, the music is among his most exotic, displaying influences from Spanish, Javanese, and Middle-eastern music. The composer said that the piece represented a sea voyage.  He was the soloist himself at its first performance in June 3, 1896, in Paris. It was a popular and critically successful.

Below's video is Camille Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103, 'The Egyptian'
with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performing, conducted by Andris Nelsons, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, pianist. This performance was recorded 16th of November 2011, Concertgebouw Amsterdam.






Video Credit:

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No.5 - Thibaudet / Concertgebouw Orchestra - Live Concert HD. YouTube, uploaded by AVROTROS Klassiek. Accessed December 14, 2012

Resource:

Camille Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103. en.wikipedia.org


Posted June 3, 2012.  Latest update: March 12, 2012. Tel.  

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op.30

Classical Music / Piano Concerto 

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 

The Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 composed in 1909 by Sergei Rachmaninoff considered one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the standard classical repertoire. It is used in the 1996 film Shine, based on the life of pianist David Helfgott.

The video below is performed by piano virtuoso Martha Argerich, with Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.




Following the form of a standard concerto, the piece is in three movements: 0:28 - Allegro ma non tanto, 16:27 - Intermezzo: Adagio, and 27: 27 - Finale: Alla breve

Brahms Piano Concerto No.2

Classical Music Milestone: November 9

Composer Johannes Brahms is soloist in the first performance of his Piano Concerto No.2 at Budapest.

Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op.83 is a composition for solo piano with orchestral accompaniment. November 9, 1881 marks the day that the composer first performed it in Budapest, himself the soloist.   It is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto.

He began work on the piece in 1878, completing it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna, Austria.  He dedicated this piece of music to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen.  The premiere was an immediate success. Brahms performed it in many cities across Europe soon after.

Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1

Classical Music / Piano Concerto

Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in  E, Op. 11, premiered with the composer himself as soloist.

Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, was first performed on 11 October 1830, in Warsaw Theatre, Poland, with the composer himself as soloist, during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving his native land. It was the first of Chopin's two piano concertos to be published, and therefore given the designation of Piano Concerto "No. 1" at the time of publication. It was written immediately after what was later published, his famous Piano Concerto No. 2.

The legendary Martha Argerich plays Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E. Jacek Kaspszyk conducting Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra.  YouTube, uploaded by ClassicalRarities. Accessed November 16, 2019.