Piano Concerto No. 1 (Villa-Lobos)
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| Piano Concerto No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Concerto by Heitor Villa-Lobos | |
.jpg) Heitor Villa-Lobos | |
| Catalogue | W453 |
| Genre | Concerto |
| Form | Concerto |
| Composed | 1945: Rio de Janeiro |
| Dedication | Ellen Ballon |
| Published | 1984: Paris (reduction for two pianos) |
| Publisher | Max Eschig |
| Recorded | June 1949 Ellen Ballon, piano; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Ernest Ansermet, cond. (issued 1949 on LP, London LLP 77, matrix ARL.66 and ARL.67). |
| Duration | 38 min |
| Movements | Four |
| Scoring |
|
| Premiere | |
| Date | 11 October 1946 |
| Location | Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro |
| Conductor | Heitor Villa-Lobos |
| Performers | Ellen Ballon, piano; Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal |
Piano Concerto No. 1, W453, is a composition for piano and orchestra by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
He composed the First Piano Concerto in Rio de Janeiro in 1945. It was commissioned by the Canadian pianist Ellen Ballon, who gave the first performance at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro on 11 October 1946, with the composer conducting the Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal.[1] Ballon also gave the American premiere of the concerto in Dallas, conducted by Antal Dorati in 1946, the Canadian premiere with Désiré Defauw on 28 October 1947 at the Plateau Auditorium in Montreal, and the London premiere with Thomas Beecham in 1956. She also recorded the work with Ernest Ansermet in 1949, with whom she also made return Canadian performances on 30 and 31 January 1951 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.[2]
A typical performance lasts about 38 minutes.
The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion (timpani, tam-tam, triangle, and bass drum), harp, and strings.
Analysis
The concerto has four movements:
- Allegro
- Allegro (poco scherzando)
- Andante – Andantino (quasi andante) – Cadenza
- Allegro non troppo
Although Villa-Lobos adheres to the four-movement structure often found in piano concertos, he makes little effort to follow the traditional structures, based on melodic ideas, within the movements. Instead, he uses rhythmic elements to define sections of movements.[3]
