Piano Concerto (Burgmüller) Explained

The Piano Concerto Op. 1 in F-sharp minor is a concerto for piano and orchestra written by Norbert Burgmüller in 1828–1829. It premiered on 14 January 1830 and was performed by Burgmüller at the piano.

Because of the early accidental death of Burgmüller at the age of 26 – he drowned in a spa in Aachen most likely due to an epileptic seizure – it is his only piano concerto.[1] [2]

Background

The premiere was on 14 January 1830 in Kassel with Burgmüller at the piano. In 1833 Burgmüller became friends with Felix Mendelssohn, who performed the solo part in Düsseldorf on 3 May 1834.[3] [4]

Composition

The orchestra includes 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, kettledrums and strings. It is written in three-movement concerto form:[5]

  1. Allegro ma non troppo
  2. Larghetto con moto
  3. Allegro moderato

Recordings

Sources

  1. Web site: Lebenslauf von Norbert Burgmüller. Klassika. Klaus. Zehnder-Tischendorf. Norbert Burgmüller's résumé. German. 19 May 2021.
  2. News: Schwarze Frühromantik. Oswald. Beaujean. Die Zeit. German . 2013-10-17.
  3. [Klaus Martin Kopitz]
  4. Book: Fifield, Christopher. The German Symphony Between Beethoven and Brahms: The Fall and Rise of a Genre. UK. Taylor & Francis. 2016. 44.
  5. Web site: Piano Concerto, Op.1 (Burgmüller, Norbert). Project Petrucci LLC (private company) . 30 April 2005 . International Music Score Library Project . 16 May 2021.