Piano Concerto No. 1 (Rautavaara)
Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 45, in 1969.
| Piano Concerto No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| by Einojuhani Rautavaara | |
 Photo of Einojuhani Rautavaara in the 1950s | |
| Catalogue | Op. 45 |
| Composed | 1969 |
| Movements | 3 |
| Scoring | Piano concerto |
The piece contains many innovative uses of polytonality, cluster chords and extended uses of form.[1] It was during this time that Rautavaara had become disenchanted with the serialist and twelve-tone techniques of his previous works, and abandoned them in favor of a more idiosyncratic, romantic, and avant-garde style.[2]
Movements
The concerto is in three movements.
I. Con grandenzza
The first movement, Con grandenzza, begins with a piano solo. For the first thirteen bars, there are octave clusters in the right hand, outlining a melody in E phrygian, and harmonizing with a D major/minor arpeggio in the left hand. The orchestra joins abruptly after, imitating the piano intro. The piano and orchestra bounce themes off of each other, before a large climax, where the pianist is instructed to slam their arm on the keyboard to simulate a 3-octave wide cluster chord.
II. Andante
The second movement starts with a C drone in the strings, and ends with more tone clusters that lead into the beginning of the next movement.
III. Molto vivace
The third movement provides a strong climax with themes from the first movement, and a short french horn solo.
Instrumentation
- Woodwinds
- 2 Flutes
- 2 Oboes
- 2 Clarinets
- 2 Bassoons
- Brass
- 2 French Horns
- 2 Trumpets
- 3 Trombones (third doubling bass trombone)
- Tuba
- Percussion
- Timpani
- Unpitched percussion (snare drum, tam-tam, cymbal)
- Piano
- Strings
- 16 Violins
- 8 Violas
- 8 Cellos
- 4 Basses
References
- Judd, Timothy (2019). "Einojuhani Rautavaara’s First Piano Concerto: Twentieth Century Finnish Neo-Romanticism". The Listener's Club. Retrieved 10 June, 2020.
- Rickards, Guy (2016). "Einojuhani Rautavaara obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June, 2020.