The fascinating world of the piano concerto – where virtuosos showcase their skills and composers have the freedom to experiment. Ever since Johann Sebastian Bach liberated keyboard instruments from having to provide a mere accompaniment, the piano concerto has become one of the best-loved genres for concert audiences around the world. Every significant composer of the Classical and Romantic era, many of whom were themselves virtuosos on the piano, has written a masterpiece for this genre, performing it themselves as a means of self-promotion and a welcome source of income.
Since the 1990s, the piano concerto has been a permanent fixture in our Urtext programme. Especially in recent years, following the inclusion of important concertos by Bach, Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Gershwin in our catalogue, it is now high time to pay a fitting tribute to the piano concerto in 2024 – as the pinnacle for pianists. You can explore our selection of piano concertos here. Among them, you will find two wonderful facsimile editions: Antonín Dvořák’s piano concerto and a recent addition and in honour of his 150th birthday, that of Arnold Schönberg. The orchestral material for many of these works has been published in cooperation with the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel.
It is no coincidence that piano concertos are performed in the final rounds of major piano competitions. That is why this year we are donating special prizes at prestigious traditional competitions such as the Concours Géza Anda and the Cleveland International Piano Competition.
So why not select your next, perhaps deeply personal project from the following list of Urtext editions? We wish you a lot of pleasure when sight-reading, practising, rehearsing, and performing it!
Further editions of this title
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S. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2 op. 18
- Composed in 1900 / 1901.
- Dedicated to the doctor N. Dahl out of gratitude for helping Rachmaninoff out of his depression and a long creative crisis.
- Performed by Rachmaninoff himself 80 times only in the U.S.
- Best-known passage: beginning of 1st movement, powerful chords in the piano followed be the elegiac Russian melody in the strings.
- Fun fact: main theme from the slow movement has been used by Eric Carmen for his pop song "All by myself" in 1975. The work had not yet entered public domain everywhere at that time, so Carmen had to share his royalties with the Rachmaninoff heirs.
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J. S. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto no. 1 d minor BWV 1052
- Bach's most famous harpsichord concerto and one of his most popular works.
- With his concertos for keyboard instruments, Bach established one of the main genres of classical music.
- Best-known passage: The sombre unison opening of the solo instrument and orchestra, which also concludes the first movement, is particularly characteristic.
- F. Mendelssohn performed the concerto several times, e.g. in 1843 for the inauguration of the Bach memorial at St Thomas's School in Leipzig. R. Schumann was present on this occasion, wrote about the performance and raised the idea of a complete Bach edition in his review.
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C. M. v. Weber – Concert Piece f minor op. 79 for Piano and Orchestra
- Carl Maria von Weber’s (1786–1826) opus 79, known as the Konzertstück (Concert Piece), is essentially his third piano concerto.
- In contrast to other piano concertos, the "Konzertstück" is notated in a free form: a sequence of emotional states.
- Weber had planned from the start to compose the work in a minor key, but at the same time was concerned that this would not be well received by the audience.
- He therefore assumed a programmatic content, a dramatic love story in a crusader milieu, which should motivate the music. At the same time, however, he shied away from making such a programme public, as he feared that it would come across as too simple and unambiguous.
- Best-known passage: The opening motif of the slow first section and the jubilant music in the finale, mm. 329 ff, a very typical Weber tone.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto no. 23 A major K. 488
- Composed in 1784/1786.
- Written by Mozart for his own subscription concerts in Vienna and premiered by him, therefore often brilliantly virtuosic in the outer movements.
- The concerto is one of his later Viennese piano concertos, in which Mozart brings the genre to perfection, and one of the very few orchestral works (i.e. concertos and symphonies) in which Mozart uses clarinets instead of oboes.
- Special feature of our edition: Our edition is based solely on Mozart's autograph score, of which G. Henle Verlag has also published the facsimile (HN 3216)
- Well-known performer: In the 19th century, the composer and pianist Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) was very much in favour of reviving Mozart's piano concertos in the concert hall. He created an arrangement for solo piano of the slow movement of the A major Concerto K. 488 in order to make it better known to the general public.
- Best-known passage: Presumably the slow middle movement, a dreamy-romantic Adagio in the key of F sharp minor, which is quite unusual for Mozart.
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M. de Falla – Nights in the Gardens of Spain for Piano and Orchestra
- The epitome of musical Spain, interspersed with folk dances and songs from Andalusia.
- A work of impressionism in which nocturnal moods in dreamlike, enchanted gardens are depicted.
- Originally planned as a collection of four nocturnes for solo piano. On the advice of Isaac Albéniz, Falla then changed the instrumentation and form.
- Integration of the piano into the overall sound, without effects or brilliance.
- Neither a symphony nor a piano concerto.
- The fingerings in our edition are by world-class pianist Yuja Wang.
- The most famous movement is the final movement "En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba" (In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba), which is inspired by a glittering nocturnal festival.
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M. Ravel – Piano Concerto in G major
- An important standard work of neoclassicism, in Ravel's own words a concerto in the spirit of Mozart and Saint-Saëns.
- It is a brilliant, rhythmically refined mixture of different stylistic elements: Spanish-Basque folklore, jazz and classical elements are combined.
- The work is dedicated to his pianist friend Marguerite Long. She played the solo part in the premiere after Ravel realised that he could not play it himself due to a lack of time to prepare it.
- The fingering has been provided by Pascal Rogé, a grand-disciple of Marguerite Long.
- The most famous movement is the middle movement ‘Adagio assai’ with its long, unaccompanied piano cantilena at the beginning.
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L. v. Beethoven – Piano Concerto op. 61a after the Violin Concerto op. 61
- Created in April to July 1807 by order of Muzio Clementi.
- The concerto is an arrangement of the now very popular Violin Concerto op. 61, of which the violin part was criticized for being “unplayable” and too pianistic.
- The two versions were a wedding present to the (very good amateur) pianist Julie von Breuning and Stephan von Breuning, a childhood friend of the composer.
- The authenticity of the piano version was doubted in the past, as for a long time only the printed editions and a copy of the piano version were known. An autograph does not exist.
- It was only in the 1970s that Beethoven's subsequent entries in the autograph of the violin concerto were recognized as sketches for the piano version and thus its authenticity was confirmed.
- Special feature of our edition: Our edition is based on the Beethoven Complete Edition and provides the great cadenza to the 1st movement as well as the improvisatory transition and introduction to the 3rd movement.
- Particular musical features: The cadenza to the 1st movement is accompanied by timpani. The ambitus of the piano part goes up to f4, which did not even exist on pianos before 1810.
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Coming soon!
It is no coincidence that piano concertos are performed in the final rounds of major piano competitions. That is why this year we are donating special prizes at prestigious traditional competitions such as the Concours Géza Anda, the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the Leeds International Piano Competition.
Among the countless competitions, the Concours Géza Anda is a unique and extraordinary institution in international comparison – and this is not only due to the high-ranking jury, which is staffed with outstanding representatives of the music world. What is special about the Concours Géza Anda is above all that the representative act of the final concert and the considerable prize money are not enough. The Géza Anda Foundation commits itself to the winners to accompany them as a mentor for three years and, among other things, to provide performance opportunities.
The Beethoven Prize, endowed by the publishing house G. Henle Verlag, is awarded by the competition jury for the most convincing interpretation of a work by Ludwig van Beethoven during the 16th Concours Géza Anda. By endowing a Beethoven Prize, G. Henle Verlag would like to raise awareness among competition participants of the crucial role that an authentic score plays in musical interpretation. To this end, the prizewinner will be given access to a large number of Urtext editions - either in print, or in digital form.
Piano Cleveland promotes Cleveland as a premier piano destination by presenting world-class programming and community engagement and education initiatives. The organization’s four major programs and events include the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the CIPC for Young Artists, the Concert Series, and year-round education and community outreach programming. The main event, the eponymous Cleveland International Piano Competition, attracts the best young piano talent from around the world to compete for top prizes; engages an audience of 10 to 15,000 over a period of 15 days; and culminates in two sold-out performances at Severance Hall that feature the four finalists performing with The Cleveland Orchestra.
The G. Henle Verlag Urtext Prize, awarded to the best performance of a piano trio during the Semi-Final Round. The prize includes:
- Printed Urtext editions of Henle catalogue (or 50,000 credits for the Henle Library App)
- A visit to the G. Henle Verlag publishing house in Munich with an exclusive Urtext workshop
- Opportunity to perform in the publishing house’s concert room
- G. Henle Verlag will also give 1,000 credits for the Henle Library App for each Quarter-Finalist as well as a recently-published Urtext edition and a copy of their “Notes” sketchbook
One of the world’s foremost music competitions: Since its inception in 1963, the Leeds International Piano Competition has been a trailblazer among international music competitions and has shaped the world of classical piano.
The Henle Urtext Prize will be awarded to a pianist not selected to go through to the Final Round but who in the eyes of the jury shows outstanding potential for development as an artist.
The prize consists of either a set of Urtext editions in print with a market value of 3,000 GBP (the winner can choose the editions themselves) or 30.000 credits for the Henle Library App (equals appr. 3,000 GBP).
As an advanced musician, on the tutorial platform Henle Masterclass, you can discover tips and tricks from professionals and experienced teachers on a range of classical masterpieces, including six piano concertos: