Piano Concerto (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
composed his Piano Concerto in C sharp minor between 1882 and 1883. It was first performed in March 1884 at one of Mily Balakirev
's Free Music School concerts in St. Petersburg.
reappeared on the Russian music scene in 1881, at the first Free Music School concert of the 1881-82 season. Likewise, it was Balakirev who suggested that Rimsky-Korsakov write a piano concerto. Rimsky-Korsakov was not a pianist. Nevertheless, as Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "It must be said that it sounded beautiful and proved entirely satisfactory in the sense of piano techinique and style; this greatly astonished Balakirev, who found my concerto to his liking. He had by no means expected that I ... should know how to compose anything entirely pianistic."
Rimsky-Korsakov acknowledged his indebtedness to Franz Liszt
in writing this work, dedicating it to him. Like Liszt's concertos, particularly the second
, it is in one movement, with sections that contrast yet flow into one another without strict boundaries. It is also Lisztian in its virtuosic decorative pianism. Unlike the Liszt concertos, the Rimsky-Korsakov concerto is monothematic. Rimsky-Korsakov took this theme from Balakirev's collection of folk songs, published in 1866. He puts this song through thematic metamorphosis
, again in a Lisztian manner, changing its character and style as the piece progresses. Another potential influence was the Fantasie russe in B minor for piano and orchestra by Eduard Nápravník
. Rimsky-Korsakov had conducted this piece in Moscow during the All-Russian Exposition of 1882. Like the Rimsky-Korsakov concerto, the Fantasie is written in a free form, but uses three Russian folk songs instead of just one (including "Song of the Volga Boatmen").
passages and inventive use of folk song placed it firmly in the Russian nationalist camp. It influenced several other Russian composers, including Glazunov
, Arensky
and, especially in his First Piano Concerto
, Rachmaninoff
. The work is seldom heard in the West, however, due largely to its brevity (an average performance lasts approximately 15 minutes).
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
composed his Piano Concerto in C sharp minor between 1882 and 1883. It was first performed in March 1884 at one of Mily Balakirev
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
's Free Music School concerts in St. Petersburg.
Form
The concerto is written in one continuous movement with three contrasting sections:- Moderato—Allegretto quasi polacca
- Andante mosso
- Allegro
Overview
After a long hiatus, Mily BalakirevMily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
reappeared on the Russian music scene in 1881, at the first Free Music School concert of the 1881-82 season. Likewise, it was Balakirev who suggested that Rimsky-Korsakov write a piano concerto. Rimsky-Korsakov was not a pianist. Nevertheless, as Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "It must be said that it sounded beautiful and proved entirely satisfactory in the sense of piano techinique and style; this greatly astonished Balakirev, who found my concerto to his liking. He had by no means expected that I ... should know how to compose anything entirely pianistic."
Rimsky-Korsakov acknowledged his indebtedness to Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
in writing this work, dedicating it to him. Like Liszt's concertos, particularly the second
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Liszt)
Franz Liszt wrote drafts for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S.125, during his virtuoso period, in 1839 to 1840. He then put away the manuscript for a decade. When he returned to the concerto, he revised and scrutinized it repeatedly. The fourth and final period of revision...
, it is in one movement, with sections that contrast yet flow into one another without strict boundaries. It is also Lisztian in its virtuosic decorative pianism. Unlike the Liszt concertos, the Rimsky-Korsakov concerto is monothematic. Rimsky-Korsakov took this theme from Balakirev's collection of folk songs, published in 1866. He puts this song through thematic metamorphosis
Thematic transformation
Thematic transformation is a technique of where a leitmotif, or theme, is developed by changing the theme by using Permutation , Augmentation, Diminution, and Fragmentation. It was primarily developed by Franz Liszt and his good friend Hector Berlioz...
, again in a Lisztian manner, changing its character and style as the piece progresses. Another potential influence was the Fantasie russe in B minor for piano and orchestra by Eduard Nápravník
Eduard Nápravník
Eduard Francevič Nápravník was a Czech conductor and composer, who settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades...
. Rimsky-Korsakov had conducted this piece in Moscow during the All-Russian Exposition of 1882. Like the Rimsky-Korsakov concerto, the Fantasie is written in a free form, but uses three Russian folk songs instead of just one (including "Song of the Volga Boatmen").
Influence and neglect
The concerto's lyricism, bravuraBravura
In classical music, a bravura is a virtuosic passage intended to show off the skill of a performer, generally as a solo, and often in a cadenza. It can also be used as an adjective , or to refer to a performance of extraordinary virtuosity. The term comes from the Italian language for great skill....
passages and inventive use of folk song placed it firmly in the Russian nationalist camp. It influenced several other Russian composers, including Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
and, especially in his First Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)
Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, in 1892, at age 19. He dedicated the work to Alexander Siloti. He revised the work thoroughly in 1917.-First version:...
, Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
. The work is seldom heard in the West, however, due largely to its brevity (an average performance lasts approximately 15 minutes).
Sources
- Garden, Edward, Liner notes for Hyperion CDA66640, Balakirev & Rimsky-Korsakov Piano Concertos (London: Hyperion Records Inc., 1993).
- Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, My Musical Life.
- Soifertis, Evgeny, Liner notes for Hyperion CDA67511, Nápravník: Concerto Symphonique, Fantasie Russe; Blumenfeld: Allegro (London: Hyperion Records Limited, 2005).