Saint-Saëns was a virtuoso pianist, like so many composers of the Romantic and late-Romantic era. His five piano concertos were written across the long span of his life, from age twenty to sixty-one. The memorable and popular second was written in the spring of 1868, over the course of a few short weeks.
Pianist/composer/conductor Anton Rubinstein asked Saint-Saëns to arrange a Paris concert for him, and Saint-Saëns composed the new work for the occasion. Having pulled it together so quickly, there was little time to practice sufficiently, and it did not come off equal to its merits. Since then, however, the concerto has proven Saint-Saëns's most enduringly successful.
The concerto covers a wide spectrum of styles. The first movement begins with an extended improvisatory solo, with an opening nod to Bach. Rather than a fully integrated dialogue between piano and orchestra, the piano is a solo performer with flashes of accompaniment from everyone else. The second movement is a vivacious dance with ample wit and verve. The work's finale is an insistent tarantella with fanatical drive throughout.
© 2008 Tyler S. Clark
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