Piano Concerto (Abrams)

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Piano Concerto
by Teddy Abrams
Yuja Wang-The American Project.jpg
Audio recording album cover
Genre Contemporary classical, Orchestral jazz
Composed2022
Durationc. 38 minutes
Scoring Piano concerto
Premiere
DateJanuary 7, 2022 (2022-01-07)
Location Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
Conductor Teddy Abrams
Performers Louisville Orchestra, Yuja Wang

The American composer and conductor Teddy Abrams composed his Piano Concerto for pianist Yuja Wang, who was his classmate during their student days at the Curtis Institute of Music. [1] [2] Wang performed its world premiere in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts with the Louisville Orchestra conducted by Abrams on 7 January 2022. [3] [4] An audio recording of the performance on the next day, 8 January, was released by Deutsche Grammophon on 12 January 2023 as the main piece in the album The American Project. [5] The album received a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo on February 4, 2024 for Wang and Abrams. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Composition

Abrams initially developed this composition as a short companion to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue , [9] then following a discussion with Wang about her recording the Rhapsody with the orchestra, the work transformed into a standalone orchestral showpiece and was dedicated to Wang. [10] [11] [5]

The Gershwin influence is apparent in the big-band overture and an “orchestra break”. [5] Orchestration is more than big-band, however: the premiere employed more than 60 orchestral players, "including several imported for the occasion (on three saxophones, electric guitar and bass, drum kit, etc.), a band within the larger group". [12] [4] Four semi-improvised cadenzas in the classical style showcase the virtuosity of the soloist. [13] [14] Several other instrumental solos are featured throughout the piece, including violin, oboe, trumpet, and saxophone. [15]

A performance of the piano concerto has a duration of roughly 35 to 40 minutes. [9] [12] [16] The single-movement concerto is constructed in eleven sections, traversing multiple genres and styles. [13]

Reception

Annette Skaggs of Arts-Louisville thought it was "a marvelous and charismatic concerto", though it "needs to be honed a little more", and sometimes "it was very difficult to hear the sax". [15]

David Mermelstein of the Wall Street Journal found "it lacks originality, even as it revels in craft", and is "missing a vision beyond the sum of its parts". [12]

Richard S. Ginell of San Francisco Classical Voice said "I rather like this piece" even though the “Solos” section "gets a bit awkward". [2]

Nathan Cone of Texas Public Radio was "immediately taken from the get-go", only wishing "the strings could have been mixed a little hotter, as they sometimes get overpowered by the brass and saxophones". [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Teddy Abrams conductor". Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Richard S. Ginell. "Yuja Wang Dazzles With Teddy Abrams's Boisterous Piano Concerto". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Yuja Wang Archived Concerts - 2022". Yuja Wang Archives. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Amanda Kern. "Louisville Orchestra Performance Preview: Yuja Wang Premiers Teddy Abrams' First Concerto". Audience502. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "American Beauty – Yuja Wang's Artistry Shines in World Premiere Recording of Teddy Abrams' Piano Concerto". Deutsche Grammophon. January 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Congratulations to Curtis's 2024 GRAMMY Nominees". curtis.edu. November 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Yuja Wang wins her first Grammy Award". www.deutschegrammophon.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. ↑ "Yuja Wang wins Best Classical Instrumental Solo at the GRAMMYs". www.intermusica.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. 1 2 "Pianist Yuja Wang's New Album "The American Project"". The Violin Channel. March 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ Richard Fairman (March 17, 2023). "Yuja Wang: The American Project album review — glittering finger-work". The Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd.
  11. ↑ Claire Jackson (April 18, 2023). "The American Project (Yuja Wang)". Our Media Ltd.
  12. 1 2 3 David Mermelstein (January 11, 2022). "His Concerto Panders for Praise". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
  13. 1 2 Azusa Ueno (March 20, 2023). "Review: The American Project – Yuja Wang, Piano". The Classic Review.
  14. 1 2 Nathan Cone (April 16, 2023). "Yuja Wang's blazing hot 'American Project'". Texas Public Radio.
  15. 1 2 Annette Skaggs (Jan 11, 2022). "ROUSING & ROLLICKING WORLD PREMIERE (LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA)". Arts-Louisville.
  16. ↑ Tom Huizenga (March 9, 2023). "Yuja Wang, 'You Come Here Often?'". NPR.
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