Marc Blitzstein wrote his Piano Concerto for piano and orchestra in 1931 when he was 25 years old. [1] The concerto was not performed in public during the composer's lifetime; the Brooklyn Philharmonic premiered the piece on January 1, 1986, 22 years after Blitzstein's death. [2] Prior to the premiere, it had only been heard publicly twice, once in a two-piano version. [3] Blitzstein had hoped to be the piano soloist at the concerto's premiere. [4]
The concerto, 24 to 30 minutes in length, [2] [5] is dedicated to musical patron Alene Erlanger. [6]
Form
The concerto has three movements:
- Moderato molto-allegro
- Largo assai
- Allegro non troppo
Orchestration
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The concerto features twelve instrument types and 19 instrumentalists:
- Piano
- 2 flutes
- 2 oboes
- 2 clarinets
- 2 bassoons
- Contrabassoon
- 4 French horns
- 2 trombones
- Bass trombone
- Tuba
- String
Recording
A full recording of the work was made in 1988 by Michael Barrett with the Brooklyn Philharmonic under Lukas Foss (CRI CD 554). [7] The first movement of the Piano Concerto was reissued on a CD titled Gay American Composers, vol. 2 (CRI CD 750). An excerpt from the third movement was issued on a sampler titled “Lollapalooza USA,” issued by Boosey & Hawkes (2005).
References
- ^ "Picker & Blitzstein: Works for Piano and Orchestra". New World Records. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ a b "Piano Concerto". Marc Blitzstein. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ "Classical Music: Piano Concertos - Marc Blitzstein, Lee Hoiby, Robert Ward". kritzerland.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ Niederkorn, William S. (2012-12-14). "Rocking the Cradle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ "Marc Blitzstein - Piano Concerto". www.boosey.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ Pollock, Howard (October 2012). "Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World". Oxford University Press. p. 502.
- ^ "Piano Concerto". Marc Blitzstein. Retrieved 21 August 2023.