Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor

Chopin and the piano were inseparable. It was his lifelong confidant, the medium through which he chose to express his most intimate thoughts. It featured in every one of the 250 pieces he composed in a creative lifetime spanning 30 years, ranging from the most delicate solo miniatures to concertos of searing emotional power and virtuosity. His Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor of 1830 (composed after but published before his Second Piano Concerto) was written as a musical calling card for Vienna, in the hope of taking the Austrian capital by storm. Things didn’t work out as he intended, however, and he eventually settled in Paris. Yet back home in Warsaw, Chopin was very much the man of the moment. Having already given a successful private premiere, he went public with his First Piano Concerto on 11 October 1830, and despite his natural intolerance of large audiences, was able to report that “I was not the slightest bit nervous, and I played as I play when I’m alone”. The dedication went to piano virtuoso and composer Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1785-1849), whose quiet playing Chopin particularly admired. The heart of the Concerto is the central “Romanze”, written for soprano Konstancja Gładkowska, with whom Chopin exchanged rings before leaving Poland—sadly never to return. This is offset by two emotionally charged outer movements (the finale is based on the Polish krakowiak dance) that combine fiery virtuosity with moments of gentle reflection.