Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1

 Niccolo Paganini wrote his first violin concerto in 1817-1818 and the solo part shows that his dazzling technique was already in evidence. The audiences marveled at his technique and the new effects of violin playing he had developed.

Paganini was very secretive about his 'tricks of the trade' and didn't include the part for solo violin with the score. When he would play the concerto, only the orchestral parts would be given to the appropriate players and there was many times no rehearsal of the work. One of the tricks he used in the concerto was that the orchestra parts were written in E-flat major while his solo part was written in D major with his solo violin mistuned a semitone higher so that he was actually playing in E-flat. All of that is pretty confusing for the average listener, but in simple terms this trick allowed Paganini to play effects in E-flat that he couldn't with an ordinary tuning and it also helped the violin to be in a greater tonal contrast with the orchestra.

The concerto shows the influence of Italian Opera of Paganini's time, specifically Rossini's operas and especially the Bel Canto style of singing in them. Paganini was accused of being less than a serious musician by some in his day for his tricks and going out of his way to please the crowd, but the seriousness of his intentions with this first concerto shows that he was, above everything else, a very skilled and passionate musician. 

I. Allegro maestoso - The concerto begins with the orchestra calling the listener to attention with loud chords, and then the themes are presented in the usual form of an exposition in sonata form. The orchestra plays for a relatively long time before the soloist enters, and the first theme is a rhythmic one that is highlighted by drums, brass and cymbals.  The soloist enters and takes up the themes and expands upon them considerably in form and ornament, while also adding new material.  There is another section for orchestra alone, which leads to the soloist joining the orchestra in loud chords as the beginning of the movement. The second theme is given a melancholy variation in the development section in a minor key, with many examples of the soloist playing alone using some of the techniques of violin playing that Paganini had devised and made famous.  The recapitulation has the soloist displaying the themes with more technical wizardry until a cadenza is played. After more razzle-dazzle from the soloist in the cadenza, the orchestra returns and closes out the movement with the themes that opened it.

II. Adagio espressivo - the second movement shows the depth of feeling and how dramatic Paganini could be in his music. The orchestra plays a prelude for the entrance of the soloist, who plays an uncomplicated tune to pizzicato and bassoon accompaniment.  It is like listening to a mini-dramatic opera, with not any flashes and trickery of technique (at least not obvious ones). Paganini makes the violin sing like an opera singer.  The movement reaches a climax, and then the soloist returns to the long aria it is playing, with the orchestra giving a discreet accompaniment. The music grows in loudness as the music dwells in a major key for a section. This doesn’t last very long before the music turns to the minor again.  The brass plays loud chords that slowly grow quiet while the soloist gives ad answers to it. But at the very last, the music ends in a major key.

III. Rondo - Allegro spiritoso - The fireworks come back in the rondo finale as Paganini's bow ricochets off the violin strings as the soloist plays the theme. The theme is repeated to set it in the ear before new material is introduced. The first episode showcases the soloist in the higher register of the instrument in chords in harmonics. The movement is filled with impressive techniques as the rondo theme is played between episodes of new material. A short cadenza is played, and then soloist and orchestra approach the loud ending. 

Mendelssohn - Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor

 Felix Mendelssohn musical precociousness was apparently comparable to Mozart's, but unlike Mozart he was fortunate enough to be born into a family that was financially well off . His parents recognized his musical gifts early on and hired the best teachers of the time to give him private lessons.  By the time Felix was fourteen he had written 12 symphonies for strings and many other compositions. The Mendelssohn household in Berlin held private concerts in their home every Sunday morning. There was a private orchestra of musicians that knew the family and participated in the concerts where Felix's music was heard.

Some of Mendelssohn's most well known works were written when he was still a teenager. His String Octet when he was sixteen, the Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream when he was seventeen.  His style seems to have developed quite early, and stayed relatively unchanged during his short life.

His Piano Concerto No. 1 was written in 1830 when he was 21 years old. He played the premiere in Munich in a concert that also included his Symphony No. 1, Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream and some improvisations at the keyboard.  Mendelssohn said he had composed the concerto in only a few days and didn’t have a very high opinion of it:

"I wrote it in but a few days and almost carelessly; nonetheless, it always pleased people the most, though me very little.”

Like Franz Liszt, Mendelssohn experimented with linking movements together in this concerto, as there is no formal pause between movements. But there is no doubt the concerto is in three distinct sections. 

I. Molto allegro con fuoco -The concerto begins with a few bars of introduction by the orchestra, and then the piano enters with a bravura display. Many piano concertos of the time opened with a long orchestra introduction of themes before the piano enters. There are a few notable exceptions, such as Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 and Beethoven's 4th and 5th Piano Concertos. These examples have the piano enter with a brief statement or comment, and then it remains silent until the end of the orchestral introduction. Mendelssohn has the piano enter early also, but it doesn't remain silent. It continues to play, and introduces the themes while the orchestra comments on them later.  This makes Mendelssohn's concertos one of the first truly Romantic concertos that broke with tradition.

Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann helped make the concerto very popular in its day. With the quick tempo and a piano part bristling with arpeggios, scales, and octaves, the piano is the star and leader of the ensemble as much of the thematic development is taken up by the piano. The orchestra plays a secondary role, but adds much color and balance to the movement. Mendelssohn manages to create a movement full of fire and passion that retains elegance as well. The movement segues without a break to the next movement.

II. Andante - The fiery first movement segues into a gentle andante, one of Mendelssohn's songs without words, in E major. This movement is slow, with a middle section that changes key for contrast. The initial theme is slightly varied when it returns to end the movement.

III. Presto - Molto allegro e vivace - A fanfare for brass leads into the finale, a quicksilver rondo where the piano ripples its way through episodes and the refrain of the theme. The soloist's fingers scamper over the keys in music that Mendelssohn intends to be played very fast by the tempo designations. Towards the end of the movement, snippets of themes from the first movement appear, and the movement grows to a brilliant conclusion.

Kalkbrenner - Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor

Friedrich Kalkbrenner is a name run across whenever early 19th century pianists are discussed. He was German, evidently a charismatic performer as well as a teacher, writer, and piano manufacturer. He lived most of his life outside of Germany, in England and France. He wrote a method of piano playing that was popular until the end of the 19th century.

Chopin fell under his spell when he first came to Paris in 1830, and came close to taking lessons with him. Kalkbrenner told Chopin he would have to study for three years and give up performing during that time.  This and the fact that Mendelssohn told Chopin it would be a mistake to study with Kalkbrenner because he already played better than he did, persuaded Chopin to decline.

He was a child prodigy; playing a Haydn concerto by the time he was eight. He also could speak four languages by that time. He grew to be a very good businessman as well as musician, for he was one of the very few piano virtuosos of the time to amass a large fortune.  While in London he used a contraption called the chiroplast to restrict hand movements while practicing the piano, and although he didn't invent the machine his business sense helped him to market it and it became a popular item. He teamed up with the inventor of the machine and opened a piano school that utilized the machine.

When on tour in 1823-1824 in Austria and Germany he was wildly popular.  He settled in Paris in 1825 as a teacher and piano manufacturer. He was at the apex of his popularity about 1836, after which his fame slowly decreased. By then he was quite wealthy, and as he was known for his vain snobbery he entertained and moved in the higher circles of Parisian society until his death from cholera in 1849.

I. Allegro Maestoso - There are many ways composers have dealt with the concerto form. Some concertos are balanced between orchestra and soloist. Others are more like symphonies for piano and orchestra (with some named as such), and many concertos were virtuoso display pieces for the soloist with the orchestra playing a decidedly secondary role. It is to this former category that Kalkbrenner’s concerto belongs. Once the soloist enters, there is hardly a bar where it can’t be heard in chords, runs of double notes, and all other types of virtuoso device. As Kalkbrenner wrote all his concertos for his own benefit as a performer, his technique was truly admirable, if not always his musical taste.

His first piano concerto, written 1823, begins with the orchestra playing an exposition before the soloist enters and elaborates on the material in usual double exposition concerto form. With the piano in the forefront as the orchestra accompanying with washes of color, there is reason to believe that Chopin used Kalkbrenner’s concertos as models for his own. In some aspects they are similar, but for actual musical content, Chopin wins the prize.  But Kalkbrenner’s music has a period charm to it.

II. Adagio di molto - The second movement has the piano remaining in the spotlight as it plays the theme simply to start, then gets more and more with runs in thirds and more virtuosity, especially in the upper range of the piano.

III. Rondo - Vivace - The third movement is a sprightly rondo with theme thrown out by the piano with the orchestra keeping to an accompanying role. Once again, the piano part glistens and dazzles. With his virtuoso technique and flare for putting the piano in its best light, it is no wonder Kalkbrenner was so popular. But as with most music that was popular, it soon fell out of fashion.  With the recent interest in historical performance and lesser-known composers, Kalkbrenner has been rediscovered, and his spot in the history and evolution of piano technique are assured.

Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat

The 2nd piano concerto by Johannes Brahms stands in marked contrast to his first piano concerto, written 22 years previously, not least of all because while the first piano concerto was not received very well (it had even been hissed at some of the first performances) the second was an immediate success.  Hans von Bülow, von Bülow and the orchestra at Meiningin. Von Bülow praised the work to Franz Liszt, who requested a score and wrote to Brahms saying:

“At first reading this work seemed to me a little gray in tone; I have, however, come gradually to understand it. It possesses the pregnant character of a distinguished work of art, in which thought and feeling move in noble harmony.”

Brahms went on tour with the concerto after the premiere in Budapest in 1881 as soloist in 12 different European cities to great acclaim.

I. Allegro non troppo - The concerto begins with a theme for solo horn, which is answered by the piano. The horn continues the theme, and the piano answers this time with a cadenza, after which the exposition begins with the horn theme played by the full orchestra. The themes pour forth from the orchestra in an embarrassment of riches, and to list them all would take a very detailed analysis, but the artistry and skill of Brahms never lets the music become episodic. Every theme has a natural flow into the next.  The development section begins with an impassioned restatement of the horn theme, whereupon the music subsides to a calmer version of it. The recapitulation has the return of themes as well as the addition of a few more as it makes its way to a grand ending to the movement with a version of the horn theme.

II. Allegro appasionato - It is this movement that is the most unique of the concerto, and although Brahms called it ‘a little wisp of a scherzo’ it is anything but.  It is the only movement of the concerto not written in B-flat major, but in D minor. Unlike traditional scherzo form of scherzo-trio-scherzo, it is in sonata form with what is normally the trio section being part of the development of the movement.  The scherzo is stated by the piano and orchestra and then it is developed in stormy music until the trio D major section is inserted. The trio is repeated and the development continues until the scherzo reappears. This leads to a brilliant coda and the music comes to a noisy close.

III. Andante - A solo cello begins the movement by stating the main theme in B-flat major.  The orchestra takes the theme over before the cello returns. After a short dialogue between the solo cello and oboe, the piano enters with a gentle theme of its own.  This theme turns impassioned as pieces of the initial theme are heard. Chains of trills are played by the piano that leads to an appearance of the main theme in a minor key. Then, clarinets accompany a simple piano part, which leads to strings accompanying the soloist in quiet repose before the main theme appears again in the cello. The piano, cello and oboe slowly lead to the closing of the movement.

IV. Allegretto grazioso - Un poco più presto - A movement that is deceptively lighthearted in feeling. Once again there are themes galore, and Brahms once again blends them with a perfect sense of individuality but not at the expense of the whole.  The concerto ends in a happy mood in B-flat major. 

Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor

Beethoven's sketchbooks show that he was a very self-critical composer.  Ideas came readily to him,but he was never satisfied with the first blush of inspiration. He would think about, tinker with, write, write and rewrite to try and get the best out of his initial ideas. This critical musical mind also applied to most other composers, especially his contemporaries. Three composers that Beethoven held in great regard were Bach, Handel and Mozart.  Surprisingly, out of those three Beethoven thought Handel was the greatest, because he could write such profound music using simple means.  And in this concerto we see how Handel's influence molded one of Beethoven's musical ideas.

The concerto was composed in 1800 and premiered in 1803 with Beethoven as soloist. As usual with Beethoven, he had no time to write down the solo part so he wrote a few scribbles on music paper to help him remember the music and played it mostly from memory.  On the day of the concert he rose from his bed at five in the morning to copy out the parts for trombone and then made a hasty trip to the concert hall for rehearsals. The concert also had his 2nd symphony and his oratorio Christ On The Mount Of Olives on the program as well as a repeat of his 1^st Symphony heard at a previous concert.  This was a very busy time for the thirty-year old composer who was fresh from his studies.

I. Allegro con brio - The opening theme of the third piano concerto is in C minor, positively drenched in C minor. The string section plays the C minor triad ascending, and the C minor triad (plus a few passing notes all in the C minor tonality) descending.

The entire first movement is built on these few notes of C minor, a tribute to Handel and his inventiveness and frugality of notes.  But Beethoven also admired and championed the music of his older contemporary Mozart. He had heard Mozart play and had played for him in preparation to try and be his student. But Beethoven had to leave Vienna in a hurry because of his mother's fatal illness, and by the time he returned to Vienna Mozart was dead.  One of Beethoven's favorite pieces by Mozart was the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, played by Beethoven in public concerts.  Mozart's concerto also begins with the three notes of the C minor triad, but the two works are very different past that.

II. Largo - Beethoven breaks with convention by putting this movement in the key of E major, a key with 4 sharps that is far removed from C minor, which has 3 flats.

III. Rondo: Allegro - The piano begins the movement with a weak beat accented theme that reappears throughout the movement. There are touches of Beethoven’s humor and drama in the movement. After the cadenza, the music switches the mood and key to C major and the concerto ends brightly in that key. 

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23 In A Major K.488

Mozart wrote 23 original works for piano and orchestra, and the usual number of 27 includes the first 4 concertos that were arrangements by him of other composer’s music.  Mozart’s later concertos show how he overcame the problem of balancing a soloist’s material with an orchestra, and in the process he changed the genre and became the creator of a new type of concerto.

The years 1784-1786 saw Mozart gaining most of his living through performances of his music, especially the piano concertos. During this three-year period, he wrote 12 piano concertos, with the 23^rd being written in 1786. That is amazing enough, but he also kept on writing other works as well as preparing the premiere of his opera La Nozze di Figaro.

The concerts that featured the concertos were held in various locations around Vienna, with larger areas being preferred (more ticket sales).  The orchestration of the concertos reflects how Mozart took into consideration the size of the venue. The 23^rd concerto shows a reduction in forces, possibly for a smaller concert site:  one flute, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, soloist and strings.  It is the first major orchestral work that omits oboes entirely and replaces them with clarinets. No timpani or trumpets add to the lighter texture of the orchestra.

I. Allegro - As is customary in most of the Mozart concertos, a double exposition begins the movement with the first theme stated by the strings, and then by the woodwinds. The full orchestra plays a short development of this theme until a second theme enters. The second theme is graceful, and moves gently downward.  The winds take up the theme, and afterwards there is a tense section in a minor key that leads this somewhat brief first part of the exposition to the entrance of the soloist.

The soloist begins the second half of the double exposition by taking up the first theme, and expanding and decorating it while the orchestra accompanies.  The second theme is treated likewise until a third theme not heard in the beginning is played in the strings. The piano plays a decorated version of this theme.

The development section deals with the third theme with tonalities in major as well as minor. The development section is relatively short, and the recapitulation begins with the first theme in the home key.  The second theme is restated, and after the third theme makes an appearance the orchestra come to a pause for the soloist’s cadenza, written by Mozart and included in the score.   After the brilliant cadenza, the orchestra gently chugs to a close in the home key.

II. Adagio - Written in the key of F-sharp minor, this movement is unique to all the concertos as it is the only one written in that key. The piano begins by playing a gently rocking, melancholy theme. The orchestra comments upon it, and then the soloist expands on it. A short exchange with the orchestra and soloist switches keys from E major to B major, before a middle section emerges in the key of A major. This gives slight relief of the sadness as the piano resumes the main theme. The orchestra and piano slowly move through the secondary material until a coda is reached. With violas and basses playing pizzicato and the violins filling in off the beat, the piano plays a simple addition until the movement quietly ends in F-sharp minor. 

III. Allegro assai - Whatever sadness afflicts the 2^nd movement is swept away with the finale. The piano enters with a bouncy theme, just one of the many episodes in this movement that are exchanged between piano and orchestra.  An episode of mention has the piano play up the A major scale and triad as the 1^st and 2^nd violins along with the violas play chords pizzicato. The orchestra ends the movement in the home key and a concerto filled with Mozartean tunes and themes.

Mozart

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor K. 466

The world of modern classical music can never know how it was years ago when there was less of a distinction in public music. To be sure, there were innovations and fads as well as each era having its own ‘hits’ in the arts. Mozart himself was a popular performer and composer, at least in the realm of Vienna. His operas were popular, with arias from them becoming popular even with people that did not attend the opera, for a good tune then was just as appealing as it is now. He composed piano music, and chamber music for the playing enjoyment of amateur musicians as well. But it was the piano concerto that Mozart used for showcasing his own performing skills. 

The first 4 of the numbered 27 concertos are arrangements for orchestra and keyboard of other composer’s works. These as well as the next 6 concertos were written while he was in Salzburg. When he moved to Vienna, the writing and performing of his piano concertos contributed much to his making his living as a freelance musician. He commented upon his the first three concertos he wrote in Vienna in a letter to his father in 1782: 

These concertos are a happy medium between what is too easy and too difficult; they are very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and natural, without being vapid. There are passages here and there from which the connoisseurs alone can derive satisfaction; but these passages are written in such a way that the less learned cannot fail to be pleased, though without knowing why.... In order to win applause one must write stuff which is so inane that a coachman could sing it, or so unintelligible that it pleases precisely because no sensible man can understand it.

 Clearly the concertos were written first and foremost to be pleasing to the public, and they were. Mozart held subscription concerts where he played them. As he was busy with other things as well, sometimes the music was written down at the last moment, at least the orchestral parts. Mozart saved time by not writing down the solo part, and played it from memory. For these concerts, Mozart sold the tickets, hired the musicians for the orchestra, and even had his piano moved from his apartment to the concert venue. There was time for only a hasty rehearsal, if there was one at all, and Mozart conducted from the keyboard. Musicologists believe that he must have filled in the harmonies at the keyboard when he was otherwise not playing to make up for any deficiencies in the orchestra due to lack of rehearsal or personnel. 

I. Allegro - Piano Concerto No. 20 is the first piano concerto Mozart wrote in a minor key. Beethoven admired the work, and kept it in his repertoire and wrote cadenzas for it. The romantic era went for the dramatic and passionate in music, and much of Mozart’s music was neglected. This concerto is an exception. 

It was his most popular work. And it isn’t a mystery why, as the movement begins quietly in the strings with the chord of D minor in a syncopated rhythm that adds a sense of tension. The music builds until the rapid motive that was played by the basses ascends to the violins as the 2nd violins and violas add more weight with tremolos as the winds fill out the harmony. A second theme appears in the woodwinds but is soon taken over by the initial theme. The piano enters with a solo passage that leads up to the first theme being passed from strings to piano as it is elaborated on. The second theme makes a brief appearance and leads to a new theme in F major. This theme is also elaborated upon until the piano repeats its lead in theme that signals the beginning of the development section. 

The lead-in theme plays against the opening dramatic string syncopations, and then the orchestra has a dramatic exchange that leads to the beginning of the recapitulation. The piano engages the orchestra in the change within the repeats of elements in the beginning of the movement. There are no seams that show in this movement. The various themes and motives are discernable, but blend together into a whole that not only makes musical sense, but profound musical sense.

The music gives room for the customary cadenza; the one by Beethoven is played in the performance linked. This gives an opportunity to hear one master commenting on another’s work. After the cadenza, the orchestra has the final word as the movement comes to a quietly dramatic close. 

II. Romanze - The movement begins with the solo piano playing a gracefully decorated melody in B-flat major. The music continues in a gentle and calm mood, until a middle section in G minor that gets louder and faster. After the middle section’s passionate outbursts, the music returns to the melody in B-flat major and calmly makes its way to a peaceful close. 

III. Rondo: Allegro assai - The movement begins with the piano playing an ascending figure in D minor, known as a Mannheim rocket. The music restless and makes use of the syncopated rhythm in the strings of the first movement. The movement keeps the tension from going too far by insertions of other motives and keys in more quiet music. The cadenza is reached, and then the piano gets more optimistic as it shifts to the key of D major. The concerto has gone from the darkness of D minor to the light of D major, and ends in that bright key. 

Mozart