Saint-Saëns was the first major French composer to write a
piano concerto, and he treats orchestra and piano as equals, with brilliance and
originality. He was devoted to forms used in the past, but that did not stop
him from experimenting. He revered the modern composers of his younger years
while he grew more critical of the next generation as he got older. But for his
contemporaries, he was somewhat of an innovator and known for his novelty, all
within the French aesthetic of ‘good taste’.
Of the five piano concertos, No. 2 in G minor is the only
one that is solidly in the repertoire, with No. 4 having an occasional
performance. Both concertos are innovative in form, with No. 4 being similar in
form to Symphony No. 3. Musicologist Daniel M. Fallon has written a paper
that goes in depth concerning the 4th piano concerto and its relation to
early sketches for a symphony that was never written. The paper is free to download at the link and is titled: The Genesis Of Saint-Saëns’ Piano ConcertoNo. 4. The abstract of the paper states:
Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 4 was based on an introduction
to an unfinished symphony, which the 19-year-old composer wrote and then
abandoned. Nearly every bar of the concerto evolves from this draft, providing
a rare opportunity to understand Saint-Saëns' compositional craft.
I. Allegro moderato - Andante - This concerto
consists of two main movements, with two distinct sections within each. The movement begins with a chromatic theme
in the strings that is soon taken up by the piano. This theme is traded off by
piano and orchestra and builds in brilliance in the piano until the full
orchestra repeats the theme forte. The
theme then moves into the woodwinds as the piano and pizzicato strings
accompany. Saint-Saëns shows his
feeling for orchestral and pianistic color as it is essentially the same theme
repeated throughout the first section, but he avoids monotony with his skill of
orchestration. This section comes to a close and a bridge begins that announces
the second section of the movement.
The second section begins in the woodwinds that play a
chorale theme with the piano accompanying with rapid scales. This theme is
varied for the rest of the movement as the piano part becomes more florid until
the music calms and begins a slow transition to the second movement.
II. Allegro vivace -
Andante - Allegro - The second movement begins with a return
to the material that was used as a bridge for the first and second sections of
the first movement. The first section of this movement serves as a scherzo. The
first theme of the first movement reappears in the strings as the piano cavorts
in triplets. The theme is varied until a new energetic theme appears and
alternates with the initial theme. The bridge theme reappears, as the other two
themes play off each other. The music flows into the Andante section in a
reminiscence of the chorale theme of the first movement that receives a fugal
treatment. The chorale continues and
slowly builds in volume and intensity, which leads to the final Allegro
section.
This section’s theme is actually the chorale theme played in
C major in ¾ time, and it is initially heard in single notes in the right hand
of the piano with a pizzicato accompaniment. The piano and orchestra alternate playing the theme and
accompaniment as Saint-Saëns continues keeping the ear of the listener
interested in the theme with subtle variations on it. The piano glitters and combines with the orchestra to bring the
concerto to a brilliant close.
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