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The Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major, Op. 59 is an 1898 composition by Moritz Moszkowski. It was dedicated to pianist Josef Hofmann.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2016) |
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major, Op. 59 is an 1898 composition by Moritz Moszkowski. It was dedicated to pianist Josef Hofmann.
The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, triangle, harp, and strings.
This brilliant composition opens with what may be taken as its principal theme, inasmuch as it furnishes most of the material for the development, and also reappears in the last movement as a climax to the whole work. The announcement of this resolute subject by flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons accompanied lightly by horns, violas, cellos and contrabasses is followed by a short solo cadenza, after which the unfolding of the musical picture begins. As this proceeds, several subsidiary melodies come to notice, prominent among them being one which—while hinted at before—does not assume its formal shape until given out, grazioso, by the pianoforte alone following a short upward chromatic scale passage. This graceful subject also figures conspicuously in the development which, after passing through a succession of interesting stages, culminates finally in a rousing climax.
Marked Andante, the second movement is an eloquent, nocturne-like effusion, of which the principal thematic element is the expressive subject given out softly at the commencement by the clarinet, and bassoons, staccato, and the strings, pizzicato - this being taken up shortly and carried on by the solo instrument. An agreeably contrasting intermediary section follows, after which the expressive first theme returns - now in the harp and strings against flowing figurations in the solo instrument. And lastly, a free short conclusion passage that takes us to the third movement.
The Scherzo, marked Vivace, is a sparkling composition in Moszkowski's characteristically brilliant manner. This busy movement commences with the statement of a nimble running theme by the solo instrument.
The finale opens with a short flourishing introductory passage which leads to the statement of a resolute theme by the solo instrument. After this has been developed at considerable length the pianoforte introduces a contrasting theme of flowing character, to which the clarinet attaches itself shortly. Presently the development of the resolute opening theme is resumed, leading to the entrance of still another subject, given out softy but decidedly by the clarinet and the violas, and worked up forthwith in alternation and combination with the resolute opening theme. The flowing second theme returns, the movement mounting thence to a climax, at the pinnacle of which the resolute opening theme of the first movement reappears in enlarged rhythm.
| Year | Pianist | Orchestra | Conductor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Piers Lane | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | Jerzy Maksymiuk |
| 1992 | Michael Ponti | Hamburg Symphony Orchestra | Richard Kapp |
| 1996 | Markus Pawlik | Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | Antoni Wit |
| 2013 | Matti Raekalio | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Leonard Grin |
| 2015 | Joseph Moog | German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern | Nicholas Milton |
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, by the German Romantic composer Robert Schumann was completed in 1845 and is the composer's only piano concerto. The complete work was premiered in Dresden on 4 December 1845. It is one of the most widely performed and recorded piano concertos from the Romantic period.
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Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102, by Dmitri Shostakovich was composed in 1957 for the 19th birthday of his son Maxim, who premiered the piece during his graduation concert at the Moscow Conservatory. It contains many similar elements to Shostakovich's Concertino for Two Pianos: both works were written to be accessible for developing young pianists. It is an uncharacteristically cheerful piece, much more so than most of Shostakovich's works.
The Symphony No. 6 by Arnold Bax was completed on February 10, 1935. The symphony is dedicated to Sir Adrian Boult. It is, according to David Parlett, "[Bax's] own favourite and widely regarded as his greatest ... powerful and tightly controlled". It was given its world premiere by the Royal Philharmonic on November 21 of the year of composition, 1935.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G, Op. 55 in 1884, writing it concurrently with his Concert Fantasia in G, Op. 56, for piano and orchestra. The originally intended opening movement of the suite, Contrastes, instead became the closing movement of the fantasia. Both works were also intended initially as more mainstream compositions than they became; the fantasia was intended as a piano concerto, while the suite was conceived as a symphony.
Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15, was written from 1938 to 1939 and dedicated to Henry Boys, his former teacher at the Royal College of Music. It was premiered in New York on 29 March 1940 by the Spanish violinist Antonio Brosa with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli. A revised version of the concerto appeared in 1951, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian. It was performed by Bronislav Gimpel and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Thomas Beecham.
The Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, Op. 45, is a composition for solo piano and orchestra in four movements by the American composer Amy Beach. The work was composed between September 1898 and September 1899. It was first performed in Boston on April 7, 1900, with the composer as the soloist and the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing under the conductor Wilhelm Gericke. The composition is dedicated to the musician Teresa Carreño and was the first piano concerto by an American female composer.
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The Nonet in E-flat major, Op. 38, is a 1849 composition by French composer Louise Farrenc.
