- Chávez’s only piano concerto was commissioned in 1938 by the Guggenheim Foundation. The composer completed the work in 1940.
- The 1942 American premiere featured pianist Eugene List, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos at Carnegie Hall. The piece didn’t premiere in Chávez’s native Mexico until 1943, with Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau conducted by the composer.
- Chávez’s percussive Piano Concerto is an excellent example of the composer’s “modern nationalistic music,” combining native Mexican and European classical traditions.1
- The work is organized into the traditional three-movement structure but does not include a cadenza.2
Sources
- Elbio Barilari, Notes in accompanying booklet, Carlos Chávez Piano Concerto performed by Jorge Federico Osorio and the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto, Cedille 90000 140, 2013, compact disc.
- Robert Parker, “Chávez (y Ramírez), Carlos,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000005495.
Cut IDs
26457