 | Piano concerto: Encyclopedia II - Piano concerto - History
Piano concerto - History
Concertos for the harpsichord were written throughout the Baroque era, notably by Johann Sebastian Bach (see list of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach for a list). These harpsichord concertos are often performed with a piano as the solo instrument.
As the piano developed and became accepted, composers naturally started writing concertos for it. This happened in the 18th century, and so corresponded to the Classical music era. The most important composer in the development of the form in these early stages was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Mozart wrote many of his 27 piano concertos for himself to perform. With the development of the piano virtuoso many composer-pianists did likewise, notably Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Sergei Prokofiev. Less well-known composer-pianists in the genre include Johann Nepomuk Hummel and John Field.
Many other Romantic composers wrote pieces in the form, well known examples being those by Robert Schumann, Edward Grieg, Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. While these compositions seem to be the indisputable evergreens of concert hall programs and discographies, they represent only a minority of the piano concertos which proliferated on the European music scene during the 19th century. Critical opinion has generally dismissed the bulk of the Romantic piano concerto repertoire as vapid, mediocre showpieces (often slavishly based on opera tunes). However, these compositions were not simply wares hawked by traveling composer-virtuosos who toured Europe and America with sensational though ephemeral popularity. Far from suffering a dearth of musical quality, many of these “showpieces” have been a formative influence on the training and styles of the “canonical” composers whose concertos are still played today [1].
The piano concerto form survived through the 20th century into the 21st, with examples being written by Béla Bartók, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Samuel Barber, Michael Tippett, Witold Lutosławski, György Ligeti, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Philip Glass and others.
There are examples of piano concertos written to commissions by pianists. Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I, on resuming his musical career asked a number of composers to write pieces for him which require the pianist to use his left hand only. The results of these commissions include the concertos for piano left hand by Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev (his piano concerto No. 4) and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Other related archivesBaroque, Béla Bartók, Clarinet concerto, Classical music era, Dies Irae, Dmitri Shostakovich, Edward Grieg, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, George Gershwin, Gregorian, György Ligeti, Harpsichord concerto, Igor Stravinsky, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Field, Karol Szymanowski, List of compositions for piano and orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, Michael Tippett, Niccolò Paganini, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Wittgenstein, Petrushka, Philip Glass, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Rhapsody in Blue, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Samuel Barber, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Totentanz, Turangalîla-Symphonie, Viola concerto, Violin concerto, Violoncello concerto, Witold Lutosławski, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, World War I, ballet, cadenza, composers, concerto, ensemble, harpsichord, harpsichord concertos, improvised, list of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, movements, opera, orchestra, piano, piano trio, rondo, sonata form, variation, virtuoso
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
