- Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in e minor was written in 1830, when the composer was 20 years old and after he had already finished Piano Concerto No. 2 in f minor. The e minor work was published first in 1833, however, which is why it is designated as “no. 1.”
- The three movements are as follows:
- Allegro maestoso
- Romance. Larghetto
- Rondo. Vivace1
- The work is dedicated to compost and pianist Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner.2
- The second movement of the concerto, “Romance,” is essentially an orchestrated version of one of the composer’s famous nocturnes. Chopin wrote that the movement was “of a romantic, calm, and melancholic character. It is intended to convey the impression one receives when the eye rests on a beloved landscape that calls up in one’s soul beautiful memories – for instance, on a fine, moonlit spring night.”
- While written early on in the composer’s life, Piano Concerto No. 1 is already so reminiscent of the lush melodiousness that he would become known for. 3
- Fun fact: the concert where Chopin premiered Piano Concerto No. 1 was the last concert he would perform in his native Poland.4
Sources
- Ewald Zimmermann, “Piano Concerto no. 1 e minor op. 11,” G. Henle Verlag, accessed July 18, 2024, https://www.henle.de/en/Piano-Concerto-no.-1-e-minor-op.-11/HN-419.
- “Piano Concerto No.1, Op.11 (Chopin, Frédéric),” IMSLP, accessed July 18, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No.1%2C_Op.11_(Chopin%2C_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric).
- Herbert Glass, “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11,” Hollywood Bowl, accessed July 18, 2024, https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/pieces/2725/piano-concerto-no-1-in-e-minor-op-11.
- Marianne Williams Tobias, “Chopin: Concerto No. 1,” Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (2015), accessed July 18, 2024, https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/chopin-concerto-no-1/.
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