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Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 45, in 1969.
Piano Concerto No. 1 | |
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by Einojuhani Rautavaara | |
![]() Photo of Einojuhani Rautavaara in the 1950s | |
Opus | 45 |
Composed | 1969 |
Movements | 3 |
Scoring | Piano concerto |
The piece contains many innovative uses of polytonality, cluster chords and extended uses of form.[1] It was during this time that Rautavaara had become disenchanted with the serialist and twelve-tone techniques of his previous works, and abandoned them in favor of a more idiosyncratic, romantic, and avant-garde style.[2]
Movements
editThe concerto is in three movements.
I. Con grandezza
editThe first movement, Con grandezza, begins with a piano solo. For the first thirteen bars, there are octave clusters in the right hand, outlining a melody in E phrygian, and harmonizing with a D major/minor arpeggio in the left hand. The orchestra joins abruptly after, imitating the piano intro. The piano and orchestra bounce themes off of each other, before a large climax, where the pianist is instructed to slam their arm on the keyboard to simulate a 3-octave wide cluster chord.
II. Andante
editThe second movement starts with a C drone in the strings, and ends with more tone clusters that lead into the beginning of the next movement.
III. Molto vivace
editThe third movement provides a strong climax with themes from the first movement, and a short French horn solo.
Instrumentation
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Judd, Timothy (2019). "Einojuhani Rautavaara’s First Piano Concerto: Twentieth Century Finnish Neo-Romanticism". The Listener's Club. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Rickards, Guy (2016). "Einojuhani Rautavaara obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2020.