Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35

Program notes

About the Work

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his First Piano Concerto in 1933, at the age of twenty-six, for himself to play. The concerto is tailored to his own strengths at the keyboard: brilliance and a light touch, dry humour, and a knack for switching character in an instant.

The unusual scoring came about almost by accident. Shostakovich began by planning a trumpet concerto for the trumpeter Alexander Schmidt. As work went on he added the piano, the piece turned into a kind of double concerto, and in the end the piano took the lead, with the trumpet as a prominent partner and commentator, accompanied only by strings. The official title reflects this compromise: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra.

The premiere took place on 15 October 1933 at the season-opening concerts of the Leningrad Philharmonic, with Shostakovich as soloist, Schmidt on trumpet and Fritz Stiedry conducting. It was received with enthusiasm and helped establish Shostakovich as a concert pianist as well as a composer.

The concerto is full of jokes and borrowings. Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata is quoted near the start, and the finale takes in a Haydn piano sonata and Beethoven’s rondo Rage over a Lost Penny, along with snatches of Shostakovich’s own theatre music. The effect is of a young composer cheerfully raiding the classical cupboard, sometimes affectionately, sometimes with a sneer. The whole piece lasts about twenty minutes.

What to Listen For

Allegro moderato. The piano begins with a flourish and a quote from the “Appassionata”, before setting out a wistful main theme. The music moves quickly between lyrical moments and sharp, sarcastic ones, with the trumpet adding the occasional comment.

Lento. The emotional centre: a slow, melancholy movement with a long piano solo in the middle that builds to an impassioned climax. Near the end the muted trumpet takes over the melody in a moment of real tenderness.

Moderato. A short, reflective interlude, often played as an introduction to the finale.

Allegro con brio. The finale is a madcap chase full of quotations, abrupt changes of direction and music-hall humour. After a short piano cadenza that parodies the classical concerto, the trumpet comes into its own with fanfares and street-band tunes, and the work ends with a burst of C major.