Page 268 - (DK) The Classical Music Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained
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THE ONLY LOVE AFFAIR
I HAVE EVER HAD WAS
WITH MUSIC
PIANO CONCERTO FOR THE LEFT HAND (1929–1930),
MAURICE RAVEL
uring the 19th century, the traditionalism. Composers such
IN CONTEXT concerto grew in size and as Elgar, Richard Strauss, and
D scope in much the same Rachmaninoff continued to focus
FOCUS way as the symphony. In fact, on virtuosity in the solo part, which
Piano concertos for some examples, such as Ferruccio was balanced by a sumptuous
the left hand
Busoni’s Piano Concerto in C major, orchestration. In contrast, Modernist
BEFORE are essentially symphonies with composers such as Debussy,
1840 Charles-Valentin Alkan solo parts that enhance the Stravinsky, and Schoenberg took a
composes his Fantasie for the orchestral lines as much as they different approach. In some cases,
left hand, the first concert provide dramatic conflict. they took Classical and Baroque
piece for one hand. music as their models but used
New forms dissonant material to create
1878 Brahms publishes his With the rise of Modernism, the exciting neoclassical works.
Bach D minor chaconne for traditions of the concerto and the Prokofiev, Bartók, and Ravel
the left hand alone. form itself were challenged, leading continued to write concertos that
some composers to new avenues of resembled the Romantic form in
1902 Hungarian composer expression while others clung to terms of length, orchestration,
Géza Zichy, the world’s first and ethos, with soloists providing
professional one-handed dramatic conflict with the orchestra
pianist, writes the first piano in a structure that showed off their
concerto for the left hand. virtuosic abilities. However, in
these works, there is a far greater
AFTER
1931 Prokofiev completes his Great music must come focus on orchestral color and
nontraditional accompaniments.
piano concerto for the left hand. from the heart. Any music Wind and percussion instruments
1940 Benjamin Britten writes created by technique and often had equal roles to the strings,
Diversions for piano left hand brains alone is not worth the and a movement might even omit
and orchestra. paper it is written on. strings entirely, as in Bartok’s
Maurice Ravel Second Piano Concerto.
2012 Nicholas McCarthy is
the first one-handed pianist Restriction and freedom
to graduate from the Royal One composition that broke all
College of Music. conventions was Ravel’s Piano
Concerto for the Left Hand, a one-
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