Contemporary Classics January 16, 2018 Modern Piano Concerto

Tonight’s  show was inspired by a concert by Edward and Stephanie  Neeman at the Armstrong Campus ofGeorgia Southern University last Thursday where they did a 4 hand version ofthe second movement of the Barber Piano Concerto arranged by Edward.  I said to myself “Self – you need to doa show on the modern Piano Concert” and as you might expect there will be several shows on this them.  But tonight I will start with theBarber.

The PianoConcerto, Op. 38, by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the music publishingcompany G. Schirmer Inc. in honor of the centenary of their founding. Thework’s premiere was on September 24, 1962, in the opening festivities ofPhilharmonic Hall, now David Geffen Hall, the first hall built at LincolnCenter for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, with John Browning as soloist withthe Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. The work is inthree movements:   Allegroappassionato, Canzone: Moderato & Allegro molto

I. Allegroappassionato  – opening sectioncontains the expression of the movement’s chief melodies. Through inversion,retrograde, and counterpoint variations of these melodies

II.Canzone: Moderato –  basedprimarily on one sweet but sad melody

III.Allegro molto-  rather devilishsound with piano ostenato and heavy use of the brass instruments

Next isSergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-Flat Major for the left hand, Op.53, was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein and completedin 1931, who actually never played it. And yes we will be doing Ravel’s concerto for the left hand alsocommissioned for Paul Wittgenstein.  The firstand last movement serve as a brief prelude and postlude respectively. Themiddle two movements comprise the main bulk of the concerto. The andante ismore reflective and expands with a romantic greatness. The more sarcasticModerato is in modified sonata-form. It ends with the piano running up pianissimo to a very high B-flat.

Nino Rotais most famous for his film scores – particularly those to the Godfathermovies, but he also composed serious concert music. The Piano Concerto in Eminor, composed in 1978, is subtitled “Piccolo mondo antico,” butmany of its melodies could have come straight from one of Rota’s film scores.The appeal of the work lies not merely in its collection of melodies, but alsoin Rota’s skill at fusing his brand of melodicism with concerto form. In theconcerto the cinematic material is artfully batted back and forth between pianoand orchestra, resulting in a texture that feels less like a traditionalconcerto than like an episodic film score, yet balances piano and orchestra inconsistently unexpected ways.  Itis in 3 movements: Allegro Tranquilo, Andante Sostenuto and Allegro

Composedby Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930, concurrently with his Piano Concerto inG, it had its premiere in January 1932, with Wittgenstein as soloist performingwith the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Played continuously although debate whether is was written as a singlemovement or two linked together – Ravel described it in both ways.  It is notable for its jazz-influencedrhythms and harmonies.

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  • 7:02pm Introduction to Show by Live
  • 7:06pm Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38: I. Allegro appassionato by Keith Jarrett. piano & Dennis Russell Davies, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken on Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38; Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3; Keith Jarrett: Tokyo Encore (Live) (ECM New Series)
  • 7:18pm Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38: II. Canzone. Moderato by Keith Jarrett, piano & Dennis Russell Davies & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken on Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38; Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3; Keith Jarrett: Tokyo Encore (Live) (ECM New Series)
  • 7:24pm Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38: III. Allegro molto by Keith Jarrett, piano & Dennis Russell Davies & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken on Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto, Op. 38; Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3; Keith Jarrett: Tokyo Encore (Live) (ECM New Series)
  • 7:35pm Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 53: I. Vivace by Boris Berman, piano & Neeme Järvi & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Chandos)
  • 7:39pm Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 53: II. Andante by Boris Berman, piano & Neeme Järvi & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Chandos)
  • 7:49pm Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 53: III. Moderato – Allegro Moderato by Boris Berman, piano & Neeme Järvi & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Chandos)
  • 7:56pm Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 53: IV. Vivace by Boris Berman, piano & Neeme Järvi & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Chandos)
  • 8:01pm Nino Rota: Piano Concerto en E Minor: Allegro Tranquilo by Ana Cláudia Girotto, piano & Orquesta De Córdoba conducted by Elena Herrera on Nino Rota: Piano Concerto in E Minor – Aram Khachaturian: Piano Concerto (Lindoro)
  • 8:19pm Nino Rota: Piano Concerto en E Minor: Andante Sostenuto by Ana Cláudia Girotto, piano & Orquesta De Córdoba, Elena Herrera conductor on Nino Rota: Piano Concerto in E Minor – Aram Khachaturian: Piano Concerto (Lindoro)
  • 8:30pm Nino Rota: Piano Concerto en E Minor: Allegro by Ana Cláudia Girotto, piano & Orquesta De Córdoba, Elena Herrera conductor on Nino Rota: Piano Concerto in E Minor – Aram Khachaturian: Piano Concerto (Lindoro)
  • 8:41pm Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left hand in D by Krystian Zimerman, piano & Pierre Boulez, London Symphony Orchestra on Ravel: Piano Concertos, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (Deutsche Grammophon)
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