Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 45

Program notes

About the Work

Rautavaara’s First Piano Concerto, completed in 1969, is one of his most striking and exhilarating works, a piece that catches the composer at a fascinating turning point, as he moved away from the strict serialism of his earlier years toward the warmer, more sensuous and freely tonal style of his maturity. The concerto fuses both worlds: it has the rigour and edge of modernism alongside surging, romantic sweep and glittering orchestral colour. It is also famous for one arresting, physical device: in places the pianist plays great tone-clusters not with the fingers but with the flat of the hand and the whole forearm, producing huge, resonant washes of sound. Far from a gimmick, this becomes a powerful expressive and colouristic tool, opening up a sonority somewhere between bell-peals and breaking waves.

The work is cast in three movements and lasts around twenty minutes. It is by turns grand, mysterious and brilliant, the piano set against an orchestra used with Rautavaara’s characteristic flair for atmosphere and colour. Though less often played than his orchestral showpieces, it is a thrilling concerto, immediate, dramatic and full of imaginative sound, and a wonderful chance to hear a major modern Finnish voice. It pairs intriguingly with the Wagner that follows: both works conjure vast, elemental sound-worlds.

What to Listen For

Listen, above all, for the famous cluster-chords: passages where the soloist plays with forearms and the flat of the hand to create massive, shimmering blocks of sound, like waves of resonance washing over the orchestra. The first movement (marked ‘Con grandezza’, or ‘with grandeur’) opens in exactly this grand, sonorous vein; listen for the sense of scale and the dialogue between the piano’s washes of sound and the orchestra.

In the central slow movement, listen for a more mysterious, atmospheric mood (Rautavaara’s gift for glowing, mystical colour), with the piano weaving delicate or brooding textures over the orchestra. The finale brings brilliance and drive, the writing more motoric and virtuosic. Throughout, listen for the blend of modernist edge and romantic warmth that makes Rautavaara so distinctive: spiky, cluster-rich sonorities sitting alongside surging lyricism and rich harmony. And enjoy the sheer sound of the piece: its imaginative, often spectacular use of the piano and orchestra together, brought to life here by Yuja Wang’s phenomenal technique and fearless musicianship.