The piano and C20th British composers

[MarkSealey]

Britten's only piano concerto is to be broadcast tomorrow (2010-11-25) night.

What is it about the piano that caused so many other British composers of that generation consciously to avoid the instrument: merely a love of strings?

[Bryn]

Not quite sure what you are getting at, Mark. Ireland, Rawsthorne (2), Delius, RVW, ... , (the list goes on) all wrote at least one piano concerto. Elgar started on one, but ... .

[johnb]

I don't know about British composers in general but it's curious that Vaughan Williams only work for piano solo seems to be a set of five pieces for people learning the piano.

[Wow, you can actually EDIT posts !!!!!!]

[MarkSealey]

Bryn,

Yes, there were others - but those of the 'pastoral' school didn't take to the piano in the way that most other C20th composers did.

[Mary Chambers]

Britten said later that he liked the piano as accompaniment, but otherwise thought it limited in colour compared with orchestral textures. I must say that, fan as I am, I'm not keen on his PC.

[Bryn]

Well Bartok, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev were all renowned piano soloists in there own right. Martinu just wrote lots in every genre. Who else, other than those equally well known as pianists, did you have in mind as being particularly fond of writing piano concertos?

[MarkSealey]

Well, from the repertoire, I'm suggesting that the piano was not always the first instrument to which C20th British composers (of Britten's generation, and earlier) turned.

[VodkaDilc]

But did British composers from earlier centuries turn to the piano? A great outpouring of keyboard music from Byrd, Bull, Gibbons and the rest, but then?

[Nick Armstrong]

I prefer Britten's "Diversions" for piano left hand and orch, to his concerto. Well worth seeking out by those who don't know it.

[MarkSealey]

But did British composers from earlier centuries turn to the piano? A great outpouring of keyboard music from Byrd, Bull, Gibbons and the rest, but then?

John Field (and Clementi, if he counts: lived in London for much of his life) spring to mind.

[Roehre]

John Field (and Clementi, if he counts: lived in London for much of his life) spring to mind.

And what about Sterndale Bennett, with 5 full blown concertos and a kind of concert piece?

[amateur51]

What about the Diversions for Orchestra & Piano left-hand that Britten wroter for Paul Wittgenstein, Mary Chambers? I learned to love it from the old Katchen recording and I think Peter Donohoe has recorded it with Rattle. It has always surprised me that it hasn't become a Proms favourite

[Nick Armstrong]

Indeed amateur, cf my earlier message. I love it and share your bemusement that it's not more popular.

Nice to be able to opine here after the old midnight cutoff, isn't it! :) I bet there;ll be a lot of insomniacs happy that our new facility is open 24/7...

:D

[Chris Newman]

I much love Michael Tippett's Piano Concerto. Poised, witty, dreamlike, virtuistic: it is so classical and yet so contemporaneous of its time. There are plenty of excellent recordings: Benjamin Frith, John Ogden, Stephen Osborne, Howard Shelley but my favourite on record and in live performance has always been Martino Tirimo who recorded it with the composer.

[Tevot]

I've never really warmed to the Britten concerto - it sounds derivative / shades of Prokofiev everywhere. Must admit I'm very fond of the RVW Concerto - only coming to it quite recently (inglenook and Foxy the Cat where are you? ;-)

Does anybody have any views on Panufnik's concerto? I heard it once (admittedly a long time back) and it had an immediacy which imho the Tippett lacks.