The Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, Op.

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...

 29 by Camille Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...

, was composed in 1869. The concerto is written in 3 movements. When the concerto was first performed by Saint-Saëns himself at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1869 it was not well received, possibly because of its harmonic experimentation. Saint-Saëns's third concerto is not as often performed as his famous second concerto

Piano Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns)

The Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 by Camille Saint-Saëns, was composed in 1868 and is probably Saint-Saëns' most popular piano concerto. It was dedicated to Madame A. de Villers née de Haber. At the première, the composer was the soloist and Anton Rubinstein conducted the orchestra...

, or the fourth or fifth concertos, but it is still an important addition to the piano concerto

Piano concerto

A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...

 repertoire. It was dedicated to Élie-Miriam Delaborde

Élie-Miriam Delaborde

Eraïm-Miriam Delaborde, generally known as Élie-Miriam Delaborde was a French pianist and composer. He was also renowned as a player of the pedal piano....

, a pianist who is believed to have been the natural son of Charles-Valentin Alkan

Charles-Valentin Alkan

Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...

.

Overview

The piece follows standard concerto form. The first movement is brisk and in sonata form

Sonata form

Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...

, the second movement is slow, and the third movement is fast. The length of the concerto is approximately 29 minutes.

The three movements of the concerto are:

1. Moderato
   Tempo
   In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
   
    assai

   The first movement begins in E flat in common time with the piano playing large and rapid arpeggios. The main theme is then presented by the orchestra. The piano continues the arpeggios while the orchestra elaborates the theme. Later, the piano presents the second theme of the exposition, less rustic than the first, marked molto tranquillo, which is perhaps unique by being played by the piano by itself without any accompaniment, as well as for being in a distant key (D major). A technically brilliant cadenza

   Cadenza

   In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....

   
    follows. The cadenza is unusual because it occurs very early in the first movement rather than in its customary place at the end. The development follows after the cadenza. The piano employs many pianistic devices such as parallel octaves, rapid arpeggio and scale figures, and polyrhythm

   Polyrhythm

   Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms.Polyrhythm in general is a nonspecific term for the simultaneous occurrence of two or more conflicting rhythms, of which cross-rhythm is a specific and definable subset.—Novotney Polyrhythms can be distinguished from...

   
   s. The recapitulation follows and later the coda, profuse with octaves and large chords. The movement lasts about 14 minutes.

2. Andante
   Tempo
   In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
   
   

   The second movement is in E major and is in 3/4 time. The movement is feverish and slow. The main theme is presented in the orchestra and varied and developed throughout the movement. The movement continues without pause into the third movement. It lasts about 7 minutes.

3. Allegro non troppo
   Tempo
   In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
   
   

   The third movement is in E flat major and is in 2/4 time. It is rapid and hectic with florid melodies. There are many technical difficulties confronting the soloist including many octaves, rapid arpeggio and scale figures, and large chords. The concerto ends in an exhilarating coda. It lasts about 8 minutes.

External links

• Piano Concerto No. 3 (Saint-Saëns) Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  International Music Score Library Project
  The International Music Score Library Project , also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle...
  
  .
• Pianopedia entry