Day 21: Saint-Saens Piano Concerto no.2
Huh! What did I say? Something by Saint-Saens to listen to
each week!! So true!
This has been an interesting one! Managed to watch quite a
lot of the BBC Young Musician of the Year, so I’ve actually heard quite a lot
of music. I wasn’t sure which of the 5 Saint-Saens piano concertos to listen to
(it’s a boxed set of containing all 5), so I asked Shrimp to chose for me. The
odd thing here is that he chose no.2, which just happens to be the one played
by the 2010 winner of that same competition, Lara Melda!
I absolutely love all the concertos – but then I am a
Saint-Saens fan! According to the CD insert, no.2 is the most popular of the
concertos, and, rather astonishingly, was composed in about 3 weeks in 1868!
The premiere was conducted by Anton Rubinstein, with Saint-Saens himself at the
piano. Unlike traditional concertos, the movements are slow-quick-quick, and
begins with a Bach-style toccata solo, the middle movement shows the influence
of Mendelssohn, and the finale is a run-away tarantella, showing the influence
of Offenbach!
Strangely, I’ve been wondering lately whatever happened to a
book I ordered; this is strange because I had completely forgotten about it
until yesterday and was about to chase it when lo and behold it arrived today!
Anyway, it’s Saint-Saens: his life and art, by Watson Lyle, published in 1923.
Ironically, it has come from a public library in the States, via
Betterworldbooks!
Anyway, as you can imagine, Lyle has quite a lot to say
about all of Saint-Saens’ work. Here’s a snippet about the 2nd piano
concerto:
“The second movement, Allegro Scherzando, is airily graceful
in character […] It is in six-eight throughout, and the colour impression of
ethereal elusiveness is created at the outset by the scoring of the strings,
pizzicato, while tympani denote the rhythm. At bar 5 the pianoforte enters with
a theme of elfin capriciousness, a veritable Danse de Puck…” !
Well, if only we used rich, descriptive language like that
today!
He goes on to say:
“The rhythm […] is so compelling that I have heard
audiences, even of the best-regulated brands, tapping their feet pp. in
sympathy with the musicians!”
Tut tut!
