- Written in 1933, Shostakovich’s “uproarious” Piano Concerto No. 1 in c minor is scored for an unusual combination of string orchestra and trumpet.1
- The composer wrote the concerto with the intention of playing the premiere. He designed the piece to show off his unique strengths as a pianist specifically.
- Piano Concerto No. 1 is full of musical jokes and parodied quotations of classical music “greats,” including Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini, and Tchaikovsky.
- The concerto premiered in October 1933 with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Fritz Stiedry. Shostakovich played piano at the premiere, and Alexander Schmidt played trumpet.2 The premiere was met with enraptured enthusiasm. Consequently, the piece helped resurrect the composer’s dual career as a concert pianist.3
- Fun fact – Shostakovich’s first piano concerto originated as a trumpet concerto for Schmidt. He seemed to find writing such a piece solely for trumpet challenging, so the work soon evolved into a double concerto for trumpet and piano. Eventually, the piano would take precedence, with the trumpet still taking on a distinctive secondary role.4
Sources
- Laurel Fay and David Fanning, “Shostakovich, Dmitry,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 8, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052560.
- Gerard McBurney, “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C minor,” Boosey & Hawkes, accessed November 8, 2022, https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Dmitri-Shostakovich-Concerto-for-Piano-and-Orchestra-No-1-in-C-minor/157.
- Harlow Robinson, “Piano Concerto No. 1,” Boston Symphony Orchestra, accessed November 8, 2022, https://www.bso.org/works/piano-concerto-no-1-shostakovich.
- Ibid.
Cut IDs
40696 41503 10139