Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 1

• Stenhammar composed this concerto in 1893.¹
• This work premiered on March 17, 1894 at the Swedish Theatre in Stockholm. The composer was the soloist, and he appeared with the Royal Court Orchestra, conducted by Conrad Nordqvist.² 
• This work begins in B-flat minor and ends in B-flat Major. Sometimes it’s identified by one key, sometimes by the other.³⁴ (There’s no hard and fast rule for that when a piece begins and ends in different modes.) 
• This work was published in 1893. The composer’s manuscript no longer exists; it was destroyed by bombings in WWII.⁵

Movements 

1. Molto moderato e maestoso (B-flat minor) 
2. Vivacissimo (G-flat Major) 
3. Andante (A Major) 
4. Allegro commodo (B-flat minor/B-flat Major)⁶

1. Bo Wallner and Hans Åstrand, “Stenhammar, (Karl) Wilhelm,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed May 27, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026677.
2. “Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927), Concert (B-flat minor) [Piano concerto no. 1] opus 1,” Swedish Musical Heritage, accessed May 27, 2022, https://www.swedishmusicalheritage.com/composers/stenhammar-wilhelm/SMH-W256-Concert_B-flat_minor_Piano_concerto_no_1.
3. Ibid.
4. Wallner and Åstrand, “Stenhammar, (Karl) Wilhelm,” Grove Music Online.
5. “Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927), Concert (B-flat minor) [Piano concerto no. 1] opus 1,” Swedish Musical Heritage
6. Ibid.