Moszkowski, Piano Concerto No 2 / Mov 1

Moritz Moszkowski, the German composer born in Poland in just the middle of the 19th century, wrote a wide range of works: operas, ballets, chamber music, orchestral suites, and concertos for piano and violin, as well as extensive work for solo piano. Much of his work, though, is today forgotten, missing from the "traditional" repertoire, except for his piano miniatures, of which the popular piece Etincelles takes the cake, if only to close a performance, as an encore.

Moritz Moszkowski, c. 1880
(1853 - 1925)

Becoming a successful pianist at 30, and sought after by audiences all over Europe, Moszkowski would venture into the composition of meaningful works. Three concertos for piano and orchestra were born from his inventiveness. The most renowned of them was Concerto No. 2, composed almost at the turn of the century, in 1898. By this time, the composer had amassed a considerable fortune from his performances and the publication of his salon piano pieces (the miniatures among them). He is living in Paris or Berlin and is a professor at both Conservatories, gaining academic recognition. Even in his personal life, everything is also going wonderfully. For a year, he has been happily married to Henriette, sister of the composer Cécile Chaminade.

However, at the end of his life, everything will change, and for the worse. Moszkowski will need to learn how to adapt to the times and his music will lose its charm, and his performances will become scarce. In 1910. Henriette will leave him for his best friend. Unfortunate investments of his fortune will lead him to ruin. Moszkowski would die in poverty, in 1925, in Paris.

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2, in E major, op 59
Of his three piano concertos, this is virtually the only one that still supports recordings today. It is clearly his most ambitious work for piano and orchestra, and not a minor achievement in writing for the genre, perhaps the ultimate Romantic concerto. No wonder that in the early years of the 20th century, it enjoyed a certain popularity in European concert halls, although after the First War all that began to fade. There was no room for romanticism anymore.

Dedicated to one of his brilliant pupils, the Polish virtuoso Josef Hofmann, the work is structured in four movements (Moderato / Andante / Scherzo - vivace / Allegro deciso), lasting about 40 minutes.

The First Movement is presented here, in a rendition by the Italian maestro Pasquale Iannone, accompanied by the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by the Belgian conductor Ivan Meylemans.

(Complete work: https://youtu.be/eh3l8I-JT4Q)