Henry Litolff - Concerto Symphonique No. 4, Op. 102 (1852)

Henry Charles Litolff (7 August 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the scherzo from his Concerto Symphonique No. 4 in D minor – and remembered as the founder of the Collection Litolff (today part of Edition Peters), a highly regarded publishing imprint of classical music scores.

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Concerto Symphonique No. 4 in D minor, Op. 102 (c. 1852)
Dedication: Ernst II, Duc régnant de Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

1. Allegro con fuoco (0:00)
2. Scherzo. Presto (12:51)
3. Adagio religioso (19:54)
4. Allegro impetuoso (26:27)

Gerald Robbins, piano and the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra conducted by Edouard van Remoortel

Details by John Glover:
Like Sarasate, Liszt, and the fictional Radetzky of Dangerous Moonlight, Litolff was both virtuoso performer and composer. His career as a pianist took him all over Europe, settling at various times in France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, and finally Brunswick, where he ran music festivals, conducted, and took over the management of his friend's music publishing company. Of all of his compositions, it is the four Concertos Symphoniques that stand out both in terms of formal inventiveness and musical brilliance. These pieces were unique in conception, combining the structure of a symphony with the showmanship of a classical concerto. Unlike earlier concertos, much of the thematic musical material is introduced by the orchestra, with the piano serving as obbligato. Franz Liszt, a contemporary of Litolff, was an admirer of his innovations. Liszt thought so highly of him as a musician that he dedicated his first Piano Concerto to Litolff. The sprightly rhythms and dazzling piano writing of the scherzo movement from his Concerto Symphonique No. 4 leave little doubt why he was admired by audiences and musicians alike. Of particular note is Litolff's prominent use of the piccolo and triangle in this piece, as he was among the first to incorporate these instruments into the instrumentation for a keyboard concerto.