Piano Concerto No. 5 (Saint-Saëns)
Encyclopedia
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
103, popularly known as The Egyptian, was Camille Saint-Saëns'
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
last piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
. He wrote it in 1896, 20 years after his Fourth Piano Concerto, to play himself at his own Jubilee Concert on May 6 of that year. This concert celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Saint-Saëns' début at the Salle Pleyel in 1846.
This concerto is nicknamed 'The Egyptian' for two reasons. First, Saint-Saëns composed it in temple town of Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
while on one of his frequent winter vacations to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Second, the music is among his most exotic, displaying influences from Javanese and Spanish
Music of Spain
The Music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music. It has had a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. The music of Spain is often associated abroad with traditions like flamenco and the classical guitar but Spanish music...
as well as Middle-eastern music. Saint-Saëns said that the piece represented a sea voyage.
Saint-Saëns himself was the soloist at the première, which was a popular and critical success.
Structure and overview
- AllegroTempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
animato- The Allegro animato alternates several times between two contrasting themes. It begins warmly, introducing a simple subject on the piano, which is imbued at each new variation with increasing energy by a brilliant and technically challenging piano part featuring runs up and down the keyboard. This dissolves into a much slower and deeply melancholy subject, recalling that of the Andante sostenuto movement of Saint-Saëns' second piano concertoPiano Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 by Camille Saint-Saëns, was composed in 1868 and is probably Saint-Saëns' most popular piano concerto. It was dedicated to Madame A. de Villers née de Haber. At the première, the composer was the soloist and Anton Rubinstein conducted the orchestra...
. Like waves, the two lead into one another until finally the second theme gives way to a gentle coda.
- The Allegro animato alternates several times between two contrasting themes. It begins warmly, introducing a simple subject on the piano, which is imbued at each new variation with increasing energy by a brilliant and technically challenging piano part featuring runs up and down the keyboard. This dissolves into a much slower and deeply melancholy subject, recalling that of the Andante sostenuto movement of Saint-Saëns' second piano concerto
- AndanteTempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
- The Andante, traditionally the slow and expressive movement in concertoConcertoA concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
form, begins literally with a bang; the timpani punctuates an orchestral chord followed by an intensely rhythmic string part and an ascending and descending exotic run on the piano. This exciting introduction segues into the thematic exposition based on a NubiaNubiaNubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n love song that Saint-Saëns heard boatmen sing as he sailed on the NileNileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
in a 'dahabiah' boat. Lush and exotic, this is the primary manifestation of the Egyptian sounds of the piece and probably the source of the nickname. Toward the end of the section, the piano and orchestra produce impressionistic sounds representing frogs and the chirping of Nile crickets.
- The Andante, traditionally the slow and expressive movement in concerto
- Molto allegro
- The soloist begins the third Molto allegro with low rumbles suggesting the sounds of ships' propellers before exhibiting a vigorous and bustling first theme that rushes all over the piano. The piano continues in its dizzying motion as the woodwinds and strings bring in a driving new melody. The two combine and overlap, creating an active tension that Saint-Saëns uses to great dramatic effect, concluding the movement with a triumphant flourish. He later adapted these themes in 1899 for the Toccata that closes the Opus 111 series of piano étudesÉtudeAn étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...
.
- The soloist begins the third Molto allegro with low rumbles suggesting the sounds of ships' propellers before exhibiting a vigorous and bustling first theme that rushes all over the piano. The piano continues in its dizzying motion as the woodwinds and strings bring in a driving new melody. The two combine and overlap, creating an active tension that Saint-Saëns uses to great dramatic effect, concluding the movement with a triumphant flourish. He later adapted these themes in 1899 for the Toccata that closes the Opus 111 series of piano études
Essays
- Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5, "Egyptian", program notes by Barbara Heninger for the Redwood Symphony
Recordings
Classic recordings of this work by Jeanne-Marie DarréJeanne-Marie Darré
Jeanne-Marie Darré was a French classical pianist. She was known for her lyrical and elegant interpretations of the solo works of Chopin and Liszt, and of the Saint-Saens Concertos. She was awarded the Légion d'honneur and made a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres.-Biography:Darré was born in Givet,...
and Magda Tagliaferro
Magda Tagliaferro
Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro was a Brazilian-born pianist of French extraction. Born in Petropolis, Brazil, she studied under Antonin Marmontel and Alfred Cortot...
are not currently available (as of February, 2008). Selected recordings presently available include:
- Stephen HoughStephen HoughStephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari OramoSakari OramoSakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor.Oramo started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he enrolled in Jorma Panula's conducting class at the Sibelius Academy...
on Hyperion Records CDA 67331/2 - Jean-Philippe CollardJean-Philippe CollardJean-Philippe Collard is a renowned French pianist who is known for his interpretations of the works of Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns.Born into a musical family, he started playing the piano at age five...
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
. (EMI 86245), on a 2-CD set with all 5 Saint-Saëns piano concertos - Aldo Ciccolini and the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Serge BaudoSerge BaudoSerge Baudo is a French conductor, the son of the oboist Étienne Baudo. He is the nephew of the cellist Paul Tortelier....
EMI 585183, on a 2-CD set with all 5 Saint-Saëns piano concertos - Anna Malikova and the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Sanderling, Cologne (Audite 92.510), on a single CD with Saint-Saëns' second Piano Concerto