Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Schumann's piano concerto

I was digging through music files the other day, and ran into Schumann's piano concerto, in a. It's a really pretty piece! I think I might try it this Summer. Here's what it sounds like, played by Svyatoslav Richter, one of my favourite pianists:

: I. Allegro Affetuoso (first link, second link)
: II. Intermezzo, which is attacca
: III. Allegro Vivace

The third movement is in 3/4, but if you listen carefully, sometimes it's interestingly ambiguous. And it's way fast, too, so no good for waltzing :(

Schumann tried two piano concerti before this, but neither worked out, apparently. This one was written for his wife, Clara Schumann, who was an amazing pianist. She even wrote some cadenzas for other concertos, including Mozart's 20^th. Supposedly Grieg used this one as a model for his concerto.

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