Piano Concerto No. 1 (Bartók)
Encyclopedia
The Piano Concerto No. 1 , Sz.
83, BB 91 of Béla Bartók
was composed in 1926. It is about 23 to 24 minutes long.
in Frankfurt
on July 1, 1927, with Bartók as the soloist and Wilhelm Furtwängler
conducting. Jascha Horenstein
was Furtwängler's assistant and prepared the orchestra for the concerto.
The scheduled 1927 American premiere by the New York Philharmonic
in New York, on a tour by Bartók, was canceled by conductor Mengelberg
due to insufficient rehearsing. The Concerto eventually premiered in the USA on February 13, 1928 at Carnegie Hall
, with Fritz Reiner
conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
and Bartók as the soloist.
on the part of Bartók, which is demonstrated by such devices as the increased use of counterpoint
. The work, however, retains the harshness and dissonance that is characteristic of Bartók. Here, as elsewhere in Bartók's output, the piano is used percussively. The importance of the other percussion instruments is illustrated by Bartók’s note to a printed score:
The first movement is based on two motives, an ostinato
rhythm first introduced by the timpani and a narrow-ranging melodic fragment played by the horns; while it begins with brass clusters and harsh dissonances, the melodic element gains greater and greater importance throughout the movement. The second movement is an example of what is known as Bartók's "night music"
. The strings and brass are silent; a duet for piano and percussion becomes the backdrop to an eerie and dissonant woodwind melody, and then recurs to bring the movement to a cadence. The third movement follows immediately as percussion take up its rhythm; it is a fast and lively rondo
in which the returns of the main theme are greatly varied.
Bartók wrote of the concerto: "My first concerto [...] I consider it a successful work, although its style is up to a point difficult, perhaps even very difficult for the orchestra and the public." The concerto is considered one of the more technically challenging works of its kind.
András Szőllősy
András Szőllősy was the creator of the Szőllősy index , a frequently used index for the works of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, was born at Szászváros in Transylvania on February 27, 1921. He studied composition under Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music where he was a professor of...
83, BB 91 of Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
was composed in 1926. It is about 23 to 24 minutes long.
Background
For almost three years, Bartók had composed little. He broke that silence with several piano works, one of which was the piano concerto. He composed it between August and November 1926.Premieres
The work premiered at the fifth International Festival of the International Society for Contemporary MusicInternational Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
on July 1, 1927, with Bartók as the soloist and Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
conducting. Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein was an American conductor.Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire , into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother came from an Austrian rabbinical family and his father was Russian....
was Furtwängler's assistant and prepared the orchestra for the concerto.
The scheduled 1927 American premiere by the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in New York, on a tour by Bartók, was canceled by conductor Mengelberg
Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Willem Mengelberg was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.- Biography :...
due to insufficient rehearsing. The Concerto eventually premiered in the USA on February 13, 1928 at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, with Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
and Bartók as the soloist.
Analysis
The concerto comes after an increased interest on Baroque musicBaroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
on the part of Bartók, which is demonstrated by such devices as the increased use of counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
. The work, however, retains the harshness and dissonance that is characteristic of Bartók. Here, as elsewhere in Bartók's output, the piano is used percussively. The importance of the other percussion instruments is illustrated by Bartók’s note to a printed score:
“The percussion (including timpani) must be placed directly next to the piano (behind the piano)”.This note is omitted in a number of printed scores, restored in recent printings .
The first movement is based on two motives, an ostinato
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
rhythm first introduced by the timpani and a narrow-ranging melodic fragment played by the horns; while it begins with brass clusters and harsh dissonances, the melodic element gains greater and greater importance throughout the movement. The second movement is an example of what is known as Bartók's "night music"
Night music (Bartók)
Night Music is a musical style of the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók which he used mostly in slow movements of multi-movement ensemble or orchestra compositions in his mature period...
. The strings and brass are silent; a duet for piano and percussion becomes the backdrop to an eerie and dissonant woodwind melody, and then recurs to bring the movement to a cadence. The third movement follows immediately as percussion take up its rhythm; it is a fast and lively rondo
Rondo
Rondo, and its French 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 to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
in which the returns of the main theme are greatly varied.
Bartók wrote of the concerto: "My first concerto [...] I consider it a successful work, although its style is up to a point difficult, perhaps even very difficult for the orchestra and the public." The concerto is considered one of the more technically challenging works of its kind.
Movements
- Allegro moderato - Allegro
- Andante - attacca
- Allegro molto
Sources
- Liner notes by Paolo Petazzi to DG Recording of the concerto by Maurizio PolliniMaurizio PolliniMaurizio Pollini is an Italian classical pianist.- Biography and career :Pollini was born in Milan to the Italian rationalist architect Gino Pollini. Maurizio studied piano first with Carlo Lonati, until the age of 13, then with Carlo Vidusso, until he was 18...
- Somfai, L. (1996), Béla Bartók: Composition, Concepts, and Autograph Sources (Ernest Bloch Lectures in Music) ISBN 978-0520084858
Recording
- Géza AndaGéza AndaGéza Anda was a Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also a tremendous interpreter of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Bartók....
(piano), Ferenc FricsayFerenc FricsayFerenc Fricsay was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leo Weiner. Fricsay had a meteoric rise to fame, making his first appearance as a...
(conductor), Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, DGGDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
447 399-2, recorded 1960 - Budapest Festival OrchestraBudapest Festival OrchestraThe Budapest Festival Orchestra was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as The Times put it...
under conductor Iván FischerIván FischerIván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...
, Soloist: András SchiffAndrás SchiffAndrás Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
, in April 1996 recorded in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in the Italian Cultural Institute. Sound engineer was Eberhard SengpielEberhard SengpielEberhard Sengpiel is a multiple Grammy award-winning sound engineer. He is also a musician in his own right and a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts, UdK-Berlin.- Career :...
.
External links
- Programme notes by Michael Allsen