subject: Chopin Rare Piece - Allegro De Concert Op. 46 [print this page] Most of Chopin's music lovers, are aware of his two piano concertos, which were written when Chopin was around 18-20 of age. Those magnificent piano peices were Chopin's way to show the world that his on par with the rest of the great composers of that time. Those two concertos were written in Warsaw, before Chopin moved to France. There is some evidence that Chopin started working in Warsaw on a concerto for two pianos and orchestra, but this work was never finished and Chopin kept it to himself. There are a number of sketches to piano works that Chopin started writing in Warsaw and later becase great masterpieces, and some went to obscurity and were found as a sketch or released posthumously, most of the time against Chopin's own wish.
When Chopin came to france, he started a sketch for a third piano concerto, at around 1831-1832, but this work as well was never finished, though, there is evidence that these sketches and ideas came to life in the Allegro De Concert Op. 46, which Chopin published in 1841. This piece has all the characteristics of Chopin's concertos, yet it is more advanced, and it is considered one of Chopin's harder pieces to play.
Most of the Chopin scholars agree that this piece was supposed to be the first chapter in the third concerto, but for various reasons, Chopin completed only this chapter, and there is no evidence about the other chapters, and any ideas about the orchestra part are lost or unknown.
My personal opinion is that world could greatly benefit from a more mature concerto by Chopin, and i have a lot of admiration to this piece, it is one of the most exquisite in Chopin's repertoire.
This article was written by Shaul Hadar, one of the leading Chopinologists out there.
