OK
Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Chopin, Fryderyk |
|---|---|
| Work: | Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 |
| Year Composed: | 1830 |
| Instrumentation: | 2, 2, 2, 2 - 4, 2, 1, 0, timp, str, [solo piano] |
| Publishers: |
Edwin F. Kalmus Schott Music Chester Music and Novello & Co. The Edwin A. Fleisher Music Collection Breitkopf & Härtel |
| Duration: | 00:39:00 |
| Period: | Romantic |
| Work Category: | Concerto |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor was actually the second of the two to be composed and was written, like its companion, in Warsaw, before Chopin left Poland. The concerto was tried out in private and then given its first public performance on 11 October 1830, at the composer's last Warsaw concert. On 2 November he left home for good. Chopin dedicated the work to his friend Tytus Woyciechowski, and while it expresses something of his love for his closest companion, it summarises in its slow movement his feelings for the young singer Konstancja Gladkowska. He described the Adagio as "like dreaming in beautiful spring-time - by moonlight".
The concerto relies heavily on the solo instrument, and Chopin himself played it on occasions without the assistance of an orchestra. The orchestral exposition has been considered by some to be too long, while others have found fault with the orchestration, and editors have sometimes seen fit to make change, to remedy these supposed faults. The idiom of the solo part remains entirely characteristic of the composer, with a slow movement "reviving in one's soul beautiful memories", as Chopin put it, and a final rondo providing a structure into which the composer's genius fits rather less easily.
Writer: Keith Anderson
| No. | Catalogue No. | Album Title | Label | Featured Artist |
|---|
