Piano Concerto No. 1 (Chopin)

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Chopin in 1829

The Piano Concerto in No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 is a piano concerto by Frédéric Chopin.

History[change | change source]

In 1829, Chopin wrote his first piano concerto, the Piano Concerto in F minor. He wrote the concerto in E minor soon after he performed the concerto in F minor.[1]: 12  However, the concerto in E minor was published first. So, it is given the number one.[2]

Chopin first performed the concerto on 11 October 1830.[1]: 13  It was a part of his last concerts in Poland.[2]: 44  He played the concerto again at his first concert in Paris.[1]: 15 

Structure[change | change source]

The concerto is written for solo piano two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, a trombone, timpani, and strings. It has three movements:

  1. Allegro maestoso (E minor)
  2. Romanze – Larghetto (E major)
  3. Rondo – Vivace (E major)

Reception[change | change source]

The concerto was liked by the audience. It was praised after its rehearsal on 22 September 1830. However, almost no reviews was published for the first performance. This was because of the censorship at the time.[1]: 16 

Robert Schumann said that "Chopin introduces the spirit of Beethoven into the concert hall"[3] with his piano concertos.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rink, John; Rink, Professor John (1997). Chopin: The Piano Concertos. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44660-0.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Seroff, Victor (1964). Frederic Chopin. New York: Macmillan Co.
  3. Keller, James M. "Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Opus 11". San Francisco Symphony. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

Other websites[change | change source]