Replies

On 17 March 1830, Frederic Chopin had another red letter day, and this time it was on the stage of the National Theater in Warsaw. This was the day he premiered the immortal Piano Concerto #1, one of his greatest masterpieces, clunky orchestration and all. Even if you’re not a classical music person, listen to this piece. It’s one of the great staples of the repertory.

The first movement is in sonata format, the same format as the earlier concerto. Catch the gorgeous duet between the piano and horn at 7:21. At 14:01, as he ends the development section to recap, he staggers the left and right hand off by a half tone, and dissonance has never sounded better! The coda at 18:57 is one of the most astonishing things he had written thus far, especially the use of dissonance.

The second movement is in ternary format. Fred even duos the piano and the bassoon at several points. At 24:45 he mutes the strings to get that moonlit quality.

The third movement in E is a delicious rondo with a wonderful trick. At 31:45 the orchestra takes off on a flight that leads you to believe that something portentous is about to happen. Then the piano skips down from the clouds in one of Chopin’s great comic turns.

Chopin: Piano Concerto #1 in E minor, Op. 11

In November 1830, Fred left Warsaw to make his fortune. His first stop would be Vienna. But that’s for next week.