Piano Concerto No. 5 (Villa-Lobos)

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Piano Concerto No. 5
Concerto by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos (c. 1922).jpg
Heitor Villa-Lobos
CatalogueW521
Composed1954 (1954): Rio de Janeiro, Paris, New York
Dedication Felicja Blumental
Published1984 (1984): Paris (reduction for two pianos)
PublisherMax Eschig
Recorded25 May 1955 (1955-05-25) Felicja Blumental, piano; Vienna Symphony, conducted by Heitor Villa-Lobos).
Duration19 minutes
Movements4
Scoring
  • piano
  • orchestra
Premiere
Date8 May 1955 (1955-05-08):
Location Royal Festival Hall, London
Conductor Jean Martinon
PerformersFelicja Blumental, piano; London Philharmonic Orchestra

The Piano Concerto No. 5, W 521, is a piano concerto by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1954. One performance recorded under the composer's baton lasts 18 minutes, 48 seconds.

Contents

History

The concerto was composed in 1954 in Rio de Janeiro. It was commissioned by Felicja Blumental, to whom the score is dedicated, and who gave the first performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 8 May 1955, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jean Martinon. [1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, xylophone), celesta, harp, and strings.

Analysis

Royal Festival Hall, London, venue of the concerto's premiere Royal Festival Hall - panoramio.jpg
Royal Festival Hall, London, venue of the concerto's premiere

The concerto has four movements:

  1. Allegro non troppo
  2. Poco adagio
  3. Allegretto scherzando – Cadenza
  4. Allegretto

The first movement is in sonata-allegro form. After an orchestral introduction featuring a mirror motif, the main theme enters at rehearsal number 3. It is in A minor and resembles a slow waltz, alternating 3
4
and 6
8
metres. A bridge, in which the opening mirror motif is played by the piano, leads to the second, chromatic, Gershwinesque theme at rehearsal no. 11, in the distant key of G minor. A return of the main theme at rehearsal no. 15 is followed by a third theme in C minor, at rehearsal no. 18, closing the exposition section. [2]

Recordings

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References

Cited sources

Further reading