Piano Concerto No. 4 (Prokofiev)

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Sergey Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major (Op. 53) for the left hand was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein and completed in 1931. As Wittgenstein had refused to play the work, saying that he could not understand it, it became the only one of Prokofiev's complete piano concertos that never saw a performance during the composer's lifetime.

Contents

[edit] Movements

The concerto has four movements, lasting around 25 minutes:

  1. Vivace (4-5 mins)
  2. Andante (9-13 mins)
  3. Moderato (8-9 mins)
  4. Vivace (1-2 mins)

[edit] Analysis

The first and last movement serve as a brief prelude and postlude respectively. The middle two movements comprise the main bulk of the concerto. The andante is more reflective and expands with a romantic greatness. The sarcastic Moderato is in "modified sonata-form". The concerto has an unusual ending, with the piano running up pianissimo to a very high B-flat7.

[edit] Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo piano (left hand), 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, bass drum and strings.

[edit] Recordings

Pianist Orchestra Conductor Record Company Year of Recording Format
Vladimir Ashkenazy London Symphony Orchestra André Previn Decca 1975 CD
Kun-Woo Paik Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Antoni Wit Naxos 1991 CD
Boris Berman Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Neeme Järvi Chandos 1989 CD
Michel Beroff Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Kurt Masur EMI 1974 CD
Abdel Rahman El Bacha Théâtre de la Monnaie Orchestra Kazushi Ono Fuga Libera CD
Nikolai Demidenko London Philharmonic Orchestra Alexander Lazarev CD
Gabriel Tacchino Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg Louis de Froment Quadromania 1977 CD
Leon Fleisher Boston Symphony Orchestra Seiji Ozawa Sony Classical 1991 CD
Vladimir Krainev Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra Dmitri Kitajenko Atlantic/Teldec CD
Alexander Toradze Kirov Theatre Orchestra Valery Gergiev Philips CD
Viktoria Postnikova USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra Gennadi Rozhdestvensky CD

[edit] External links

  • The Prokofiev Page [1]
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Concertos by Sergei Prokofiev
Piano

No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10 · No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 · No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 · No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 53 (for left hand) · No. 5 in G major, Op. 55 · No. 6, Op. 134 (unfinished)
Violin
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List of compositions by Sergei Prokofiev