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apa Haydn - nothing of the sort! The great musician always knew how to entertain people without using cheep templates filled with gaudy timbres or highly dramatic gestures. For him, joie de vivre is admissible, even desirable. Behind this rhythmic vitality and all the gestures, the master distinguishes and seduces people to superior thoughts, too. Little is known about the creation of the piano concerto in G major. Guaranteed is just a date of performance on April 28th, 1784 at the Concert spirituel in Paris with the blind Viennese pianist Maria Theresia Paradis, whom also Mozart composed for. The importance of Haydn as author of concertos is still underestimated in the history of music. This particular concerto is composed for a string quartet only, without wind instruments. It comprises a typical, classically built work full of surprises and embellishments. This extent of humor and playfulness was rarely accomplished by later born composers.

Franz Vorraber recalls his memento this way. His "Concerto classico" op. 37 refers, as it can be seen from the title, back to the classical structure and the motives in terms of Haydn. As customary habit at the time, rhythmic set phrases and harmonic collocations of today have been used and processed. In the theme of the first movement this can easily be noticed. Thus, the formal arrangement between tutti and solo is obliged to the classical model. Some surprising twists, especially the intensifying rhythm throughout the piece, combine typical formula of the First Viennese School with contemporary elements.The simple theme of the second movement is enriched with complex harmonic turns. Due to the interjections of the piano, a harmonically opposed dialogue is created. The piano's harmonics, conducted with whole tones and additionally colored by the fifths of the strings, comes finally to a quiet ending. After a virtuosic opening, the third movement is designed concerto-grossostyle. The tutti is dominating the string orchestra. It is interrupted by the piano's soloist tours with a rather "groovy" basso continuo. The contrabass is taking the bass line in the middle part to calm the ensemble. After a wild cadence of the piano, the strings return with momentum and vividly end the work with copious virtuous piano figures.

Chopin loves singing and as a singing poet of the piano, he inveigles into the universe of dreams. Chopin composed the piano concerto in e minor at the age of 20 during spring and summer of 1830 in Warsaw. It emerged shortly after his concerto in f minor and belongs to the standard repertoire of concert literature. In fall 1830, Chopin left Warsaw to go to Paris. This work is based mainly on polish dancing rhythms; especially prominent is the Krakowiak in the last movement. Eventually, his work is characterized by its exceptional cantability. Chopin writes operas for the piano. He most likely performed this concerto himself in Warsaw in the same string casting as it can be heard here.

Franz Vorraber