A piano concerto is a type of concerto—a solo composition in the classical music genre—composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces requiring an advanced level of technique. They are written out in music notation, including sheet music for the pianist (often memorized for performance), orchestral parts, and a full score for the conductor.
History
The earliest piano concertos were composed in London, inspired by instrument maker Johannes Zumpe. Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Carl Friedrich Abel began writing concertos for harpsichord and string ensemble around 1730.
During the Classical era, the form became established across Europe, especially in Germany and Austria, with notable works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as contributions from Joseph Haydn, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carl Stamitz, and Joseph Wölfl. In the early Romantic period, the repertoire was expanded by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ferdinand Ries, and John Field.
Well-known examples from the middle to late Romantic era include concertos by Edvard Grieg, Johannes Brahms, Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 1899, Amy Beach completed her Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, the first piano concerto composed by a female American composer.
20th century and contemporary
The piano concerto form continued through the 20th and into the 21st century, with examples by composers including Béla Bartók, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten, Arnold Schoenberg, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Philip Glass, György Ligeti, Witold Lutosławski, and many others.
Characteristics
Form
A classical piano concerto is often structured in three movements:
- First movement – A moderately quick opening movement in sonata allegro form, often including a virtuoso cadenza (which may be improvised by the soloist).
- Second movement – A slow movement that is freer, more expressive, and lyrical, usually in ternary form.
- Third movement – A faster rondo.
Examples by Mozart and Beethoven follow this model, though many composers introduced innovations. Liszt's second and third concertos are played without breaks between sections. Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Moszkowski's Piano Concerto No. 2 have four movements. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major consists of a single movement.
Orchestral role
In the Baroque and Classical eras, the orchestra typically provided subordinate accompaniment over which the piano played solo parts. By the end of the Classical era, the orchestra had assumed an equal role, frequently engaging in "dialogue" or "conversation" with the pianist.
Variant types
Piano concertos exist in several variant forms, including double piano concertos (for two solo pianists and orchestra) and double or triple concertos in which the piano soloist is joined by a violinist, cellist, or another instrumentalist. There are also works for piano left-hand and orchestra, written for pianists who lost the use of their right arm, with notable examples by Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten, and others.
