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Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mendelssohn)

 

 
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Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mendelssohn)
 
 
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Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn was a Germany composer, pianist, organist and conducting of the early Romantic music period....
's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (op.
Opus number

Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning "work", is usually used in the sense of "a work of art".The Latin plural of opus, "opera", is used to refer to the genre of music drama ....
 25) was written in 1830–1
1831

Year 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian Calendar ....
, around the same time as his fourth symphony
Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn)

The Symphony No. 4 in A major, Opus 90, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral symphony written by Germany composer Felix Mendelssohn....
 ("Italian"), and premiered in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 in October 1831. He had already written a piano concerto in A minor with string accompaniment (1822) and two concertos with two pianos (1823–4
1824

Year 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian Calendar ....
). The three connected movements —

  1. Molto allegro con fuoco in G minor
  2. Andante in E major
  3. Presto—Molto allegro e vivace in G major


use several relatively new formal techniques in their brief span — for example, the piano enters very soon after the opening of the first movement, with little of an orchestral tutti to contrast with.






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Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn was a Germany composer, pianist, organist and conducting of the early Romantic music period....
's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (op.
Opus number

Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning "work", is usually used in the sense of "a work of art".The Latin plural of opus, "opera", is used to refer to the genre of music drama ....
 25) was written in 1830–1
1831

Year 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian Calendar ....
, around the same time as his fourth symphony
Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn)

The Symphony No. 4 in A major, Opus 90, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral symphony written by Germany composer Felix Mendelssohn....
 ("Italian"), and premiered in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 in October 1831. He had already written a piano concerto in A minor with string accompaniment (1822) and two concertos with two pianos (1823–4
1824

Year 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian Calendar ....
). The three connected movements —

  1. Molto allegro con fuoco in G minor
  2. Andante in E major
  3. Presto—Molto allegro e vivace in G major


use several relatively new formal techniques in their brief span — for example, the piano enters very soon after the opening of the first movement, with little of an orchestral tutti to contrast with. The concerto quickly obtained popularity, and contains many sections of improvisation, one of Mendelssohn's specialities.

Structure


Molto allegro con fuoco

The piano enters after only a few bars of orchestral introduction. It was standard procedure in the classical-era concerto to precede the solo's entrance by a tutti, for various reasons - and while the length and purpose of these introductions differed, some offering a hint of what was to follow and some giving out almost all the movement's material for example, none was so brief as this: in this sense, this was one of the first concertos of the Romantic age. (The obvious exceptions - Mozart's Jeunehomme concerto
Piano Concerto No. 9 (Mozart)

The Piano Concerto No. 9 "Jeunehomme" in E flat major, K?chel-Verzeichnis 271, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was written in Salzburg in 1777, when Mozart was 21 years old....
 and Beethoven's fourth
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Opus number 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives....
 and fifth
Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)

The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Opus number 73 by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the "Emperor Concerto", was his last piano concerto....
 piano concertos - allowed the piano to enter very briefly just at the start, also for different reasons, but then proceeded as usual, the soloist silent.) The rest of the movement is fairly typical of concertos in its use of a modified sonata form
Sonata form

Sonata form is a musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical music era. While it is typically used in the first Movement of multimovement pieces, it is sometimes employed in subsequent movements as well....
, with a second, contrasting lyrical theme first heard from the piano over repeated accompaniment, and later on wind. As the movement closes a transition takes the movement not to a full close, but instead, with a brass fanfare and a piano continuation of the same, to the border of the Andante.

Andante

This opens with a melody in the lower strings, in E major
E major

E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E , F? , G? , A , B , C? , and D? . Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative key is C-sharp minor, and its parallel key is E minor....
, soon taken up by the piano. This is drawn out with breadth, and a middle section in C
C major

C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C , D , E , F , G , A , and B . Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative key is A minor, and its parallel key is C minor....
 provides contrast. The original melody, somewhat varied, returns to close the movement.

Presto — Molto allegro e vivace

This opens with a fanfare in G minor (Presto). The piano joins in, at which point the mood lightens, and the closing rondo
Rondo

Rondo, and its French language equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also in reference to a character-type that is distinct from the form....
 - Molto allegro e vivace - begins. This is regular in form, and the returns of the refrain are varied. Several themes from the first movement return towards the close.

External links

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  • by Martin Leung and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
    Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

    The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an United States symphony orchestra, based at Heinz Hall in the Cultural District, Pittsburgh of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
     on the NPR radio show From the Top
    From the Top

    From the Top is a national program and inititiative to develop and showcase young classical musicians. It is best known for its NPR radio and PBS television programs hosted by pianist Christopher O'Riley, which celebrate the passion, dedication and personal stories of America's best young classical musicians....