Piano Concerto No. 3 (Kabalevsky)
Encyclopedia
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op.
50 (subtitled Youth) by Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky
is one of three concertos (the others are for violin and cello) written for and dedicated to young performers within the Soviet Union
in 1952, and is sometimes performed as a student's first piano concerto. This sunny and tuneful piece manages to combine effective apparent pianistic pyrotechnics whilst keeping it within the range of ability of a keen student.
The piece has three movements:
The opening movement begins with a dramatic trumpet fanfare, followed by swirling piano writing that has a touch of the great piano concertos of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. There is a central dramatic cadenza before the opening theme returns, the movement ending with the same short fanfare.
The second movement begins in G minor in a far more austere style, using pizzicato string notes over which a melody is played in octaves on the piano. There is a shimmering central section at a faster tempo that moves through various major keys before the opening minor theme is restated, but this time with a forte from the full orchestra. The opening quiet atmosphere eventually returns at the end of this movement.
The final movement starts at breakneck speed, which is only briefly interrupted in the middle by a little march. Just before the end a sweeping romantic melody first heard in the first movement is played at full volume before the concerto ends with a prestissimo coda.
The work shares themes in common with Kabalevsky's Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, op.75, on the theme of the song "School Years".
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
50 (subtitled Youth) by Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky was a Russian composer.He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is probably...
is one of three concertos (the others are for violin and cello) written for and dedicated to young performers within the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1952, and is sometimes performed as a student's first piano concerto. This sunny and tuneful piece manages to combine effective apparent pianistic pyrotechnics whilst keeping it within the range of ability of a keen student.
The piece has three movements:
- I. Allegro molto
- II. Andante con moto
- III. Presto
The opening movement begins with a dramatic trumpet fanfare, followed by swirling piano writing that has a touch of the great piano concertos of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. There is a central dramatic cadenza before the opening theme returns, the movement ending with the same short fanfare.
The second movement begins in G minor in a far more austere style, using pizzicato string notes over which a melody is played in octaves on the piano. There is a shimmering central section at a faster tempo that moves through various major keys before the opening minor theme is restated, but this time with a forte from the full orchestra. The opening quiet atmosphere eventually returns at the end of this movement.
The final movement starts at breakneck speed, which is only briefly interrupted in the middle by a little march. Just before the end a sweeping romantic melody first heard in the first movement is played at full volume before the concerto ends with a prestissimo coda.
The work shares themes in common with Kabalevsky's Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, op.75, on the theme of the song "School Years".