Concert Report: Piano Concerto in E Minor by Chopin

Chopin’s piano concerto was a nice demonstration of mastering the instruments. I enjoyed how the solo piano and the rest of the instruments slowly took over as the lead. The rest of the instruments would become quieter as the pianist had his own solo for a few minutes of the piece. This occurred back and forth between the piano and the rest of the instruments played. Not only was this impressive, this goes on for about 40 minutes. I can hear how many different notes are played throughout the entire concerto and it’s interesting to imagine how long it would take to commit each note to memory as well as each que. 

While listening to the concerto I found that separating the movements from each other is difficult if you don’t pay close attention or look at the subtitles. Although, I could tell how the mood of the piece changes over its duration. At first the music itself sounds simple, but as I began to listen more closely, I can hear and see how much work is actually put into playing these instruments. The pianist especially adds beauty to the music and plays an important role in reintroducing the violins, basses, and the other instruments. These other instruments were very important as well. When these instruments play, they sound more energetic than the piano and recapture lost attention. This happened in the beginning of the second movement, Romance. Larghetto. While the sound of the instruments was more relaxed, the change of pace in the piece makes the listeners interested and pulls them into the piano lead.  

This concerto is an amazing piece of music to hear today, but it’s interesting to wonder about the kinds of reactions that people had when it was first composed by Chopin himself. Musical pieces such as this one were revolutionary hundreds of years ago before technology had flourished. Chopin’s concerto held significance for people, whether it be cultural or special to them. His piece contributed to the popularity that music has today. All of these motifs we see from the past can connect to an important part of that time period or tell its own story. More specifically, the piano in Chopin’s music is a well-made representation of virtuosity in music. The other instruments such as the violin in the piece have complex notes as I mentioned before. This shows how dedicated Chopin, composers, and instrumentalists were to keeping the memory of the creation of this motif.