Beethoven, Missa Solemnis in D major (Sanctus and Benedictus)

Discounting his participation as a viola player in the court orchestra of the Elector of Cologne, in 1783, when he was thirteen, Ludwig van Beethoven never worked full-time for a ruler, or under the wing of a nobleman, or a religious institution. Hence, then, his output of sacred music is relatively sparse. Apart from an oratorio in German, Christ on the Mount of Olives, of 1803, only two complete masses make up his religious production: the Mass in C major, of 1807, and the Missa Solemnis in D major of 1824, written at the same time as the Ninth Symphony.

With the help of his friends
Although he did not rely on a particular patronage, Beethoven did not lack noble friends. And although he never asked for it, in 1809, three of them undertook to grant Beethoven an annual stipend of 4,000 guilders, with the sole requirement that he remain in Vienna, dedicated to composing. Some of these enviable relationships had begun at the level of master and pupil. This is the case of Emperor Franz I's brother, Archduke Rudolph Johann Joseph Rainer, who, after behaving as a diligent pupil, later became Beethoven's greatest benefactor, making the master the first independent artist and composer in history.

Archduke Rudolph (1788 - 1831)

A great mass
In 1819, the archduke above was distinguished as the next archbishop of Olmütz, a city in Moravia, a position he was to assume in March of the following year. The master had one year to write the work of homage to his generous benefactor and admirer. A mass, a great mass, seemed to him the appropriate offering for such a solemn occasion.

Hummel enters
By this time, Beethoven was fifty years old. He was alone, deaf, and living in supplication for the affection of his nephew Karl, whose tutor he was. To make matters worse, he was engaged by the London Philharmonic Society to compose a new symphony (the Ninth). So the Great Mass was not completed for the occasion. The archbishop had to be satisfied with a mass written by Hummel.

We do not know if the maestro apologized. What is certain is that he continued to work, unperturbed, on the Ninth, the last three sonatas, and the last quartets, along with the mass.
The work was not completed until early 1823. Finally, the première took place on May 7, 1824, in St. Petersburg.

Mass for Soloists, Chorus, and Orchestra in D Major, Missa Solemnis, Op. 123
Intended to arouse and instill religious feelings in the performers and the audience, Beethoven combined the Catholic liturgy with great dramatic expressiveness, making it "the greatest production ever to come out of my mind," in Beethoven's own words.

The complete Mass with the usual sections of the Catholic liturgy: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus dei, lasts about an hour and a half. Presented here are the Sanctus and Benedictus pieces, the latter, being its most moving moment, according to scholars.

The performance is by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Chorus with tenor, bass, soprano, and alto soloists, all conducted by Sir Gilbert Levine.

Puccini: La Boheme - "O soave fanciulla"

A memorable lesson of singing

It took less than fifteen minutes for Rodolfo to fall in love with Mimi, and for Mimi to fall in love with Rodolfo. This is the magic of opera, the magic act that closes with the beautiful duet that ends Act I of La Boheme, an opera in four acts with music by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in Turin on February 1, 1896, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

At that time, the author was 38 years old, and three years earlier he had premiered with great success Manon Lescaut (1893). Later came Tosca (1900), Mme Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (unfinished, 1926), among others.

La Boheme portrays a group of artists who survive in the Latin Quarter of Paris, around 1830, sacrificing their lives for art.
Much of the work is original, but the basic idea originates in the serialized novel (or collection of vignettes, rather) "Scenes of Bohemian Life" by French writer Henry Murger, published in a newspaper over five years in the middle of the century.

Four artists make up the group of bohemians, each with his intellectual restlessness: Rodolfo is a poet; Marcello is a painter; Colline studies philosophy; Schaunard is a musician. They live in a garret in a building in the Latin Quarter. They are joined by the singer Musetta, and a fragile and naive seamstress named Mimi, who lives in the same building.

Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

It is a cold winter. After futilely trying to warm up, the friends decide to go out for a drink. But Rodolfo, the poet, has to work. He will join them later. A knock at the door interrupts him. It is a young woman, who asks for help to relight her candle, which has gone out. As she leaves, she forgets her key. He goes back to get it. Both candles go out, and here the magic begins. They must search for the key in the dark. Their hands meet, and in a couple of minutes they tell each other their whole life story. Rodolfo sings Che gelida manina (What a cold little hand). Mimi introduces herself, singing Si, mi chiamano Mimi (They call me Mimi). 

They have found love. Both sing the duet that Rodolfo begins with the words O soave fanciulla (Oh, sweet girl), confessing their newfound love to each other. Thus, in love, they will join the group of friends. They leave the room. The last bars are sung offstage, magnificently.

The rendition is by Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavaroti. Met, 1977.

Franz Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6

Franz Liszt, inventor of the piano recital

According to a few intrepid scholars, Franz Liszt's Hungarian rhapsodies represent "the less respectable side" of the composer. Their charm would lie not in their musical invention but in the dazzling expansion of the spectrum of expression possible on the piano, or put less elegantly, in "the variety of noises that can be made with a piano." Tough words.

In any case, in 1840, Franz Liszt invented the piano recital as we know it today: the concert of a single instrumentalist who makes music with his own or other people's works, at the piano. Between that year and 1847 (when he met Princess Carolyne of Sayn-Wittgenstein, who urged him to give priority to composition at home) he made many extensive tours throughout Europe, visiting cities as far away as Seville and Moscow. In all of them he received "the affection of his public", as we would say today. Liszt made an effort to please that audience, playing three or four times a week, for the special enjoyment of the ladies, who would faint in the middle of the recital, or would make a trifecta to take possession of the artist's handkerchief, when he retired, after offering an encore with a couple of Hungarian rhapsodies.

Liszt visited Hungary in 1839, after thirteen years settled in Paris. A new visit the following year led to the production, between 1840 and 1847 (precisely his "piano star" years), of ten volumes of piano pieces based on Hungarian themes. Between 1851 and 1853 he published fifteen of them under the title Hungarian Rhapsodies. In 1882-1886 he published four more.

Photograph of Liszt, in 1843
(1811 - 1886)

While in Hungary, the master transcribed numerous melodies heard from native gypsy bands. By using these "old" melodies in his Hungarian rhapsodies, Liszt believed he was immortalizing the soul of the Hungarian people. The truth is that many of these pieces had been written by contemporary composers, achieving popularity in rural areas. But Liszt didn't care. As long as the ladies kept swooning, it was all right.

Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies derive from an 18th century style and dance called verbunkos, used in Hungary during the recruitment of troops (for the purpose of enthusiasm, we imagine). It features at least two contrasting sections: a slow one, or lassan, and a fast one, or friska.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, in D flat major
Discounting the overwhelming popular presence of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (in C sharp minor), No. 6 is one of the best known, incorporating in less than seven minutes the pomp and playfulness, the exotic and the ostentatious, at once. It has five sections, marked Tempo giusto, Presto, Andante, Allegro and Presto.

The piece is highly demanding. The final Presto illustrates the extraordinary virtuosity that the maestro relied on to provoke swooning and brawls across Europe.

In opposition, the work responds exactly to the kind of piece that for a time allowed Liszt to be mistakenly labeled as just a virtuoso pianist.

The performance is by Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova.

Benjamin Britten: Violin Concerto

Rendering service to his country as a musician in the midst of a war

British composer Benjamin Britten was not yet twenty years old when European politics entered a complex phase. On September 3, 1939, in response to the German army's invasion of Poland, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Four months earlier, in the company of tenor Peter Pears, his sentimental partner, Britten had left England for the United States. He would remain there until April 1942. An avowed pacifist, Britten understood perfectly well that his humanitarian stance would not be well received in an England in the midst of war, especially coming from an artist who was gay.

Back in England, 1942
When he returned to England, a judge had to decide his future as a potential combatant. He could have been incorporated into the rearguard, in non-combat duties, but the judge made a very wise decision: the best service Britten could render to England was to continue writing music. And that is precisely what he did. He would soon earn a reputation as the greatest British composer since Henry Purcell, two and a half centuries earlier. 

The Spanish Civil War
Even before the Second War, Britten's anti-war sentiments had been strengthened by the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. In 1936 he had traveled to Barcelona to participate in a festival of contemporary music with his suite opus 6, with himself at the piano and his friend Antonio Brosa on violin. There he had the opportunity to listen to Alban Berg's Violin Concerto, a "requiem-like" concerto of which he was captivated. That was his inspiration to write his own work for violin with a similar commemorative character. According to Brosa, the third movement was conceived as a tribute to the British volunteers who had fallen fighting the fascist forces in Spain.

Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

Violin Concerto, Opus 15
Dedicated to his former teacher at the Royal College of Music, the work was premiered in New York in March 1940 and was warmly received by critics. A contributor to the New York World Telegram, pleased, made a very personal comment: "Mr. Britten, a lanky 26-year-old boy came on stage after the concert and greeted the audience somewhat shyly and awkwardly. To be frank, he did not seem to be the author of this concerto. But, in music, you never know."

Movements:
There are three, in unusual slow-fast-slow sequence. They are played without interruption.

I Moderato con moto - Agitato - Tempo primo

II Vivace - Animando - Largamente - Cadenza

III Passacaglia. Andante Lento

The Dutch violinist Janine Jansen is accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris conducted by the Russian conductor Paavo Järvi.

Wagner, The Flying Dutchman - Overture

In early 1839, 26-year-old Richard Wagner was hired as director of the national opera in Riga, the capital of Latvia. An extravagant lifestyle coupled with the retirement from the stage of his wife, the singer Minna Planer, caused him to incur large debts. Unable to pay them, he devised a plan to evade his creditors. He would finish the work he was working on, the opera Rienzi, with the idea of performing it in Paris and making some money with it. He set off for Paris, via London.

The ghost ship legend
After illegally crossing the Prussian border, the couple embarked on a ship that would be the worst sailing experience of their lives. Faced with a series of storms, the ship was finally able to find shelter in a Norwegian fjord after days of endless struggle with rough seas. They arrived in London three weeks after leaving Riga. The experience reminded Wagner of the old legend of the ghost ship, the ship unable to call, forced to sail the seas for life in search of redemption.

And already in Paris, things did not improve either. Wagner could not get a job as a conductor and the Paris Opera refused to stage his Rienzi. The couple faced great financial hardship, having to live on the help of friends and the little money Wagner could get by publishing music articles and copying scores. In these circumstances, he drew on his recent experience and devised the composition of a short one-act play on the legend of the ghost ship, which in some versions has a Dutchman as captain, a "wandering Dutchman".

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

A resounding failure
The work was intended to serve as a "curtain-raiser" for a ballet at the Opera. Wagner based it on a satire by Heine that took up the legend of the Flying Dutchman, modifying the story to present the wandering captain as a cursed character who can only be redeemed by the loyal love of a woman. The libretto, with the title "The Phantom Ship", and together with three important passages of the opera, were released in July 1841 to the Paris Opera, which agreed to buy the rights from Wagner for 500 francs, and to entrust the music and the libretto in French to other artists.
"The Phantom Ship" was a resounding failure. After its premiere, in November 1842, it fell into complete oblivion.

Der fliegende Holländer
Meanwhile, during the summer of 1841, Wagner wrote the rest of the opera, expanding the work to the more traditional three-act form, and now titled Der fliegende Holländer. The initial libretto set the work in Scotland. Wagner changed the names of the characters and the setting to Norway, in an attempt to distance himself from the failed Ghost Ship.

It was premiered in Dresden in January 1843, under the baton of the author, but was not the success Wagner had hoped for. Soon after, however, it gained in popularity and became a favorite of the public to this day, because despite the initial disappointment, it is one of the most accessible operas of the German author.

The Flying Dutchman - Overture
The overture is the last section that Wagner wrote. It contains all the leitmotifs of the work, those famous musical passages that illustrate and accompany either the characters or the situations through which they pass according to the plot, and of which Wagner made his trademark for the rest of his work.
It opens with a motif that could be called "oceanic" or "stormy".

The performance is by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Georg Solti.

Mahler, Ninth Symphony - Mov 4, Adagio

Gustav Mahler working, close to death

In 1907, two years before he began composing his Ninth Symphony, Gustav Mahler's world changed from heaven to earth. On March 17 he resigned as assistant conductor of the Vienna Opera, a position he had held for ten years (although he would soon sign a contract with the New York Met), capitulating to friction with the administration and the growing anti-Semitism of the Viennese press. In the interregnum of that summer, he took Alma and her two daughters to his villa in Maiernigg, where he could compose in the peace of his famous "composition hut." But on July 5, victim of scarlet fever, his eldest daughter, barely four years old, died. A few days later, Mahler was diagnosed with the heart disease that would take the composer to his grave in less than four years.

Mahler refused to return to Maiernigg the following summer, so Alma found a house in Toblach, in the Dolomites (in the mountain range of the Eastern Alps), a huge farmhouse with eleven rooms, two terraces and two bathrooms, "undoubtedly somewhat primitive, but in splendid surroundings," as Alma put it, referring to the expansive mountain view. There, over the course of the next three summers, Mahler will complete his last works: The Song of the Earth, the Ninth Symphony, and begin the Tenth, which was left unfinished when his heart finally failed.

Obsessed with the idea of death
The three works were written while Mahler was obsessed with the idea of death, and clearly reveal how disturbed he was by its immediacy. But the composer did not give up without a fight, even though his doctors tried to restrict his diet and warned him to discontinue the swimming, cycling and hiking he enjoyed so much. His last four years, filled with commitments as a conductor, great efforts to compose and varied personal affairs (a meeting with Sibelius in 1907, sessions posing for Auguste Rodin in 1909, and a single visit, that dreaded and often postponed session with Freud in 1910) hardly reflect the routine of an incapacitated person.

The superstition
Yet Mahler had tried to avoid composing exactly nine symphonies, knowing that neither Beethoven nor Bruckner had gone further than that. He therefore called The Song of the Earth (which followed the Eighth Symphony) "a symphony for alto, tenor and orchestra," without adding a number. Only a few days after completing the next symphony, which he openly, and perhaps even defiantly, called the Ninth Symphony, Mahler set about composing a tenth, as if to make sure he had defeated superstition, which, of course, won the day.

Symphony No. 9 in D major - 4th movement - Adagio
The work was premiered posthumously in June 1912 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the German conductor Bruno Walter, Mahler's personal friend.
It is structured in four movements, slow first and last, thus breaking with tradition, although Mahler had already experimented with a slow finale in his Third Symphony.
The complete work lasts about an hour and a half.
Presented here is the fourth movement, the Adagio, marked, in German, Sehr langsam und noch zuruckhaltend, something like "very slow and 'held back,'" or literally, "reservedly." It is initiated by the strings.

The finale is almost pure silence, stillness and waiting. The first violins sing a phrase from the Kindertotenlieder, the songs of grief over the death of children that Mahler, to his own horror, wrote shortly before the death of his daughter Maria. In the last twenty-four bars, very slow and pianissimo - one of the most moving pages ever written, notwithstanding the sparse notes - the music gradually recedes, serene and resolute.

The performance is by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

Mozart, Concerto for two pianos, in E-flat

Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, called Nannerl in her family circle, lived to be 78, far surpassing her brother Wolfgang Amadeus. But that was her misfortune, being Mozart's sister. Nannerl was as musically gifted as her genius brother, playing the violin and harpsichord to perfection by the time she was seven years old. So when little Wolfgang was six and already shining as brightly as Nannerl, who was eleven, their father Leopold took the two children on tour to the courts of Paris, Vienna and London, to let the world know about the divine miracle: he had two genius children. However, when they were a little older, Leopold, a man of his time, chose to favor the boy's career, and Nannerl had to stay at home.

Maria Anna Mozart (1751 - 1829)

But Wolfgang never turned a blind eye to his older sister's remarkable talent. If he was on tour, or later, from Vienna, he always sent Nannerl a copy of his keyboard creations, to ask for her opinion, while encouraging her to study them carefully.

The Concerto for two pianos No. 10 is supposedly composed to be performed, at some time, with Nannerl. Mozart completed it in 1779 but there are hints that the first sketches were much earlier, from 1775, while the two teenagers were living in Salzburg. It is his only concerto for two pianos and the last one written before he left Salzburg for Vienna, where he arrived at the age of twenty-three to follow a path of his own, and thus escape the overwhelming but kindly domination of his father Leopold, who, incidentally, never willingly participated in this idea of independence.

Concerto for Two Pianos No. 10 in E-flat, K. 365
A concerto for two pianos differs from the solo piano concerto format because the very nature of the ensemble assumes that there will be a certain amount of dialogue between the two pianos as musical ideas sprout from one and the other, as if they were in competition. With Nannerl in mind, perhaps, Wolfgang had the finesse to give the two soloists equally striking passages, although the concerto is much more than an opportunity for the musical rivalry of two siblings in front of an audience.ts that the first sketches were much earlier, from 1775, while the two teenagers were living in Salzburg. It is his only concerto for two pianos and the last one written before he left Salzburg for Vienna, where he arrived at the age of twenty-three to follow a path of his own, and thus escape the overwhelming but kindly domination of his father Leopold, who, incidentally, never willingly participated in this idea of independence.

Movements:
00:00  Allegro - Vigorous at times and lyrical at others, it presents no particularly relevant musical ideas. Mozart seems to be just having fun, letting his ideas flow freely.
10:16  Andante - A fine, delicate movement. The orchestra, for the most part, remains in the background, allowing the enchantment to emerge from the couple in the solo parts.
17:31  Rondo: Allegro - The finale is energetic to a high degree, full of rhythmic momentum in the rondo's main theme. One of the great moments in Mozart's rondos is the novel way in which Mozart returns to the main theme. This movement is no exception.

The performance is by the extraordinary South American pianists Martha Argerich and Maria Joao Pires.

Vivaldi, "L'Estro Armonico" - Concerto 10

Twelve concertos for string instruments

Antonio Vivaldi was born and lived most of his life in Venice. There he served for a long time, albeit intermittently, as a violin teacher and composer at the Pio Ospedale della Pietá, a residence for orphan girls who were provided with an education with special emphasis on musical instruction. Vivaldi's task was to compose music for the girls to play at religious ceremonies and festivities, often accompanied, or conducted, by Vivaldi himself.

But the continuity of the job was not assured. Notwithstanding the composer's genius, his tenure at the institution was periodically put to a vote. In 1709, shortly before the publication of L'Estro Armonico, Vivaldi found himself out of a job, dismissed by a few votes. It was the first of his many departures from, and subsequent returns to, the Ospedale.

L'estro armonico (like The Harmonic Inspiration) is a set of twelve concertos for string instruments, published in Amsterdam in 1711. It is the author's opus 3, the two previous ones being sonatas, so this is the first set of concertos to be published. Much later, in 1725, the collection Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione would appear, which contains the famous Four Seasons.

Its publication was not only the most celebrated event in Italian orchestral music of the first half of the 18th century but also the most important work in all European orchestral music. In the opinion of scholars, L'estro armonico took Corelli's solid concerto style and infused it with a luminosity, muscularity, and virtuosity that completely determined the future history of the genre.

The "rediscovery" of Vivaldi
The ensemble was suitable for various transcriptions. The earliest and most important are those made by Bach as part of a series of arrangements for keyboard and organ during his stay in Weimar in the 1710s. It is these transcriptions that will play a decisive role in the "rediscovery" of Vivaldi during the first half of the 20th century, which is almost a serendipity since musicologists were not so much interested in Vivaldi himself but rather in how to deepen their knowledge of Bach through his transcriptions.

Concerto No. 10, for four violins, strings (two violas and cello) and continuo

The tenth work in the collection is the Concerto in B minor, RV 580. A work in three movements for four violins plus orchestral ripieno (the tutti) of violins, violas, cello, and basso continuo. As in the other concertos, the Allegro alternates between continuo and ripieno. In the central movement, spiccato chords from the ripieno alternate with imitative arpeggios by the soloists (a central episode predictive of the Winter slow movement from The Four Seasons follows). The final allegro: a dancing theme in ternary compass signature of the ripieno alternating with sparkling sections by the four soloists.

Bach's transcription of this piece is his Concerto in A minor for four harpsichords, strings and continuo, BWV 1065.

Movimientos:
00:00  Allegro
04:28  Largo e spiccato (spiccato, indication for the strings, the bow should move along the strings discontinuously, in small jumps).
06:56  Allegro

The rendition is by the Karol Szymanowski Music School Orchestra, of Polonia, conducted from the keyboard by his conductor Marcin Grabosz.

Haydn, Symphony No 85, "The Queen"

A symphony for an ill-fated queen 
Three years before being arrested with her husband in Varennes, and seven years before being beheaded, Marie Antoinette of Austria attended, in February 1786, delighted with life, the performance of a couple of symphonies by Haydn in the salons of the Tuileries Palace. She heard, among others, the Symphony in B-flat, whose music she fell in love with, and so she commented that same evening to her hostesses, while they lavished her with their care. The symphony became one of her favorite pieces, and hence the nickname, "The Queen", the only one of the so-called Paris Symphonies that earned a nickname in the eighteenth century, and which did not lose renown after the unfortunate end of the Queen Consort.

The previous year, Joseph Haydn had learned of the commission for six symphonies to be performed before the French court by the renowned orchestra Concert de la Loge Olympique, an ensemble founded in that innovative decade under the generous patronage of Claude-François-Marie Rigoley, Count of Ogny. The fees were set at thirty gold Louis for each symphony, which amounted to 180 Louis for the total, a considerable amount for the time —and for this one as well (googling, I have learned that the total amounts to the equivalent of 50,000 today's dollars).

Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Such retribution testifies to the wide fame enjoyed by the maestro, who devoted himself with enthusiasm to the task. By the end of that year, 1785, he completed the first three symphonies. At the beginning of the following year, he finished the remaining three. The six symphonies, which, as already mentioned, are known today as the Paris Symphonies, were generally warmly received, and the maestro was commissioned to write another set of three symphonies, which he completed in 1788-89.

Symphony No. 85, in B-flat major, "The Queen".
Haydn was aware that the Concert de la Loge Olympique had a large number of instrumentalists, perhaps three times the twenty or twenty-five musicians he had at Esterháza. So the maestro felt at ease to compose, without instrumental restrictions. Above all, he took advantage of the opportunities that this license offered him to achieve effects that would have been impossible with a reduced orchestra. The Symphony in B-flat, in four movements, is a brilliant example of this.

Movements:
00:00  Adagio - Vivace  — Remarkable for its quiet introduction, and for the main theme.
10:50  Romanze. Allegretto  — Theme and variations, on a French ballad of the time.
16:44  Menuetto - Trio  — Some Haydian mood.
20:45  Finale. Presto  — Alternating sonata and rondo form.

The rendition is by the American ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston.

George Gershwin, Concerto in F major / Yuja Wang

The first performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue occurred on February 12, 1924, at New York's Aeolian Hall with the composer at the piano. The now-famous Rhapsody was part of a concert entitled "An Experiment in Modern Music", which marked the first significant rapprochement between jazz and classical music. Gershwin was not correctly a jazz musician, but his sensitivity to African-American music allowed him to create music intelligently colored by its textures and rhythms.

That evening, the German-born American conductor Walter Damrosch was present. Attracted by the novelty, the next day he contacted Gershwin to compose for the New York Symphony Orchestra a large-scale piano concerto in the full line of classical formality.

By this time, Gershwin was working on three Broadway musicals, so he only began sketching the Concerto in May 1925. Returning from a trip to London, he began writing for two pianos. By the end of July, he finished the first movement, in August the second, and the third in September. The complete orchestration of the three movements was finished on November 10.

At the end of that month, Gershwin hired, at his own expense, an orchestra of 55 instrumentalists for a general rehearsal, with the assistance of the commissioner, Walter Damrosch, who was delighted although he suggested some revisions.

George Gershwin, at 37
(1898 - 1937)

At The Carnegie Hall
The work was finally premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York on December 3, 1925, with the composer as soloist and Damrosch conducting. It was a huge box-office success, warmly applauded by the audience. However, his colleagues had mixed opinions. Prokofiev called the work "amateurish". But Arnold Schoenberg praised it without qualms.

George Gershwin lived only 38 years. On February 11, 1937, he played his Concerto in F in a special evening dedicated only to his music. Gershwin was a very gifted pianist, at least playing his own music, but that night suffered from coordination problems and forgetfulness. On July 9 of that year, he had to be hospitalized and fell into a coma. His doctors suggested that he might be suffering from a brain tumor. Indeed, two days after a large tumor was removed. The composer died that same night, on July 11, 1937.

Concerto in F major
On the day of its premiere, despite the success of the public, the critics did not hide their astonishment, unable to define whether they were in front of jazz music or a classical concert.

But Gershwin himself provided a brief but very accurate description of the concerto.

"The first movement employs the charleston rhythm. It is fast and pulsating, and represents the young and enthusiastic spirit of American life. It begins with a rhythmic motif given by the timpani.... The main theme is announced by the bassoon. Later, the piano introduces a second theme. The second movement has a poetic, nocturnal atmosphere similar to American blues, but in a purer form than usual. The final movement returns to the style of the first. It is an orgy of rhythms, which begins violently, maintaining the same vivacity throughout the movement."

Movements:
00:00  Allegro
14:00  Adagio - Andante con moto
26:25  Allegro agitato

The performance is by brilliant Yuja Wang, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by American conductor Tilson Thomas.