From the start of his career, Vaughan Williams aimed to create music that moved away from European traditions, drawing instead from English folk-song and Elizabethan/Jacobean music.
Critical Reception
The premiere of the Piano Concerto in 1933 was only a partial success, with many conservative audiences finding it too dissonant and disliking the percussive piano writing.
Composition History
The composer revised the Piano Concerto in 1946 for two pianos, and also changed the ending to conclude quietly, a revision that applies to the published solo piano version as well.
Compositional Technique
A major influence on the Piano Concerto was the piano transcriptions of Bach by composer/pianist Ferruccio Busoni, which can be heard in the exuberant opening Toccata.
Composer Biography
Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, studied at the Royal College of Music and Cambridge, and later with Ravel in Paris.
Composition History
The Piano Concerto was originally conceived for British pianist Harriet Cohen, with its first two movements sketched in 1926 and the Finale added in 1930.
Performer Biography
Ashley Wass, the pianist on this recording, is the only British pianist to have won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition and is a former BBC New Generation Artist.
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