For my senior project at St. Olaf, I wrote a Piano Concerto under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Mahr and then auditioned in the rigorous Senior Soloist competition to get the chance to play it with an orchestra. After a lot of practicing and dreaming, I was chosen to play, making me the first and only student to perform their own Concerto with the Senior Soloists.
Program Notes
Piano Concerto No. 1 is both an epic journey and a battle between the piano and the orchestra, inspired by Romantic Era piano works. In the journey, the piano assumes the role of the protagonist in a battle with the orchestra, facing tougher and tougher challenges as tensions rise. Written during my most difficult semester at college, I tried to capture the feeling of excitement, great tension, and emotional turmoil within
this piece.
The piece begins by introducing two clashing rhythmic ideas, one in 6/8 and one in 4/4 with sixteenth note triplets. The rhythmic variability not only gives the piece energy,but it is also integral to the form of the piece, changing with every section as the intensity rises. The harmony also follows a similar pattern, starting diatonic and modal, moving to octatonic, and finally intensely chromatic, clustered harmonies. The piano enters opposing the orchestra, and the piano and orchestra engage in dialogue, battling over the melody as the intensity of the piece rises.
The melancholic middle section interrupts the mounting rhythmic complexity as if the world has dropped out around the piano. Soaring melodies replace the former rhythmic drive, and minor sixths are accompanied by violin harmonic clusters as the protagonist faces their worst fears. However, after not much time, the protagonist’s spirits are lifted, and the slow theme returns as a waltz in the original tempo, taking previously mournful material and breathing new life into it. Finally, the first thematic material seeps back in, and the work ends with the piano and orchestra united. Only in the face of defeat is victory finally achieved.
David Forman 