Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Piano Concerto for the left hand alone Op. 17 (audio + sheet music)

The Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op 17, by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) had also disappeared by the 1930s—but for different reasons. In 1922 Korngold had been commissioned by the celebrated one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein to compose a piano concerto for the left hand alone (Wittgenstein had lost his right arm in the Great War). Later, Richard Strauss, Franz Schmidt, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel (among others) would also be approached. However, it was Korngold who was the first to be asked and he responded with an extraordinary work which is—for him—an exceptional case, both in form and mood.

The Piano Concerto in C sharp was written when he was in his mid twenties, in the wake of his greatest operatic triumph, Die tote Stadt, and when he was already one of the most important composers in Austria. It is forgotten today that by 1925 he was the most performed composer after Richard Strauss—in German-speaking countries at least. It is not surprising therefore that Wittgenstein turned to him for the first commissioned left-hand concerto. Prior to this, only one other left-hand concerto existed—that written by Count Géza Zichy (a pupil of Liszt) in 1902.

Although Korngold is most strongly associated with the sweeping post-romantic style he brought to Hollywood in the 1930s (and which became a basis for the "Hollywood Sound"), in his earlier career as Austria's most talented young composer he sometimes adopted a more modern, neo-classical sound. When he was requested to write a piano concerto by the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in World War I, Korgnold chose the leaner sound of neo-classicism, perhaps because it would be less likely to require the heavy richness of the typical two-handed piano sound. The result is a fascinating work that shows the twenty-five-year-old composer trying out a variety of styles. This unusual uncertainty of voice puzzled audiences and displeased Wittgenstein. Only with the resurgence of interest in Korngold's kind of tonal twentieth century music has this concerto found some favor with audiences.

The concerto is in one very long movement of thirty-five minutes' duration. The sound of the piece is unusually dry. The piano part is treated as a part of the orchestral texture, rather than a separate solo voice, yet is exceptionally difficult. Part of the fascination (and frustration) of the piece comes in how Korngold often seems to be out to defeat his naturally heroic nature. For instance, the main theme, marked "heroically, with fire and power" should be the basis of a dramatic struggle and emerge victorious. But the battle is not engaged, the theme goes nowhere. On the other hand, a "Round Dance" that happens later in the work would serve as a dramatic fulcrum, but its themes are curiously noncommital. On the other hand, there are many passages of exceptional imagination both in thematic material and its treatment. The orchestration is very colorful, showing the absorption of the colorful style of French Impressionism. Korngold uses the glittering sounds of harp, celesta, glockenspiel, and xylophone imaginatively.

Korngold achieved his goal of creating the illusion of two hands playing while using only one by incorporating many of his own extraordinary pianistic idiosyncrasies into the solo part. As a concerto the work is unique and it remains, after nearly eighty years, a highly original conception. It was first performed in Vienna on 22 September 1924 as part of the summer music festival there, conducted by Korngold himself with Wittgenstein as soloist. Wittgenstein so liked the piece that he commissioned a second work—the Suite for Left Hand Piano and Strings, Op 23, which Korngold completed in 1930. However, because Wittgenstein (who died in 1961) owned the exclusive performing rights, the Concerto was not played by other pianists. It was gradually forgotten until the 1980s when Gary Graffman revived it, aptly describing the work as a ‘keyboard Salome’.

(Hyperion, AllMusic)

Please take note that the audio AND the sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry.

Original audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGuly...
Original sheet music: imslp.org