Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major for the left hand, Op. 53, was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein and completed in 1931.

Contents

• Background
• Structure
• Instrumentation
• Recordings
• References
• External links

Background

Prokofiev noted the work's commission in his diary entry on 18 June 1930. "A proposal from the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein to write him a concerto for the left hand. At first this seemed a ridiculous notion, but if the fee is decent, it should not take me too long." ^[1] In his autobiography Prokofiev noted Wittgenstein's reaction to the piece on receiving it: "Thank you for the concerto, but I do not understand a single note and I shall not play it". ^[2]

It was the only one of Prokofiev's complete piano concertos that never saw a performance during his lifetime. It was eventually premiered in Berlin on 5 September 1956 by Siegfried Rapp and the West Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martin Rich. The United States premiere was in 1958, by Rudolf Serkin and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. ^[3] The British premiere was in 1961, by Malcolm Binns. ^{[4] [5]}

Prokofiev expressed some interest in making an arrangement for piano two-hands and orchestra, but never went through with this idea. ^[6]

Structure

The four movements last around 25 minutes:

1. Vivace (4–5 mins.) "A swift-running movement built mainly on finger technique"
2. Andante (8–13 mins.) "An Andante developing with calm solemnity"
3. Moderato (8–9 mins.) "A sort of sonata Allegro (although deviating from this form)"
4. Vivace (1–2 mins.) "A reversion to the swift first, but in abbreviated form and piano throughout". ^[2]

The concerto features neoclassical thematic material and is orchestrated in a Classical style. The outer movements serve in a way as prelude and postlude, with the middle two comprising the bulk of the concerto. The Vivace is in rondo form, wih the Classical scales and arpeggios of the refrain contrasted with modernistic episodes. ^[7] The Andante is reflective and makes rhetorical use of the strings, expanding with Romantic grandness. The remarkable third movement in modified sonata form, punctured and playful — some have said “sarcastic” — offers arresting, emphatic dialogs between the piano and the percussion section; it is marked Moderato and to be effective must be played strictly as such: not the least bit hurried. The final Vivace ends abruptly, with the piano running up pianissimo to a high B-flat₇.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo piano (left hand), 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, bass drum and strings.

Recordings

References

External links

• "The Prokofiev Page". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.^{[ citation needed ]}