Piano Concerto No. 1 (Saint-Saëns)

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 17, by Camille Saint-Saëns was composed in 1858, when the composer was 23 and dedicated to Marie Jaëll. It is the first piano concerto ever written by a major French composer.

Movements
There are three movements: 1. Andante – Allegro assai: The piano concerto opens with a Wagnerian horn solo that fades to light strings, a soft piano melody, and more strings before breaking into the main theme of the piece. The horn is prevalent throughout, as are the strings, before concluding in D major.
 * Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf

2. Andante sostenuto quasi adagio: The second movement is very dark and falls slightly short of eerie; low, slow cellos back-dropped by plucking violins lead to a soft and slow piano melody. Meanwhile, the strings play a large part in the piece while the theme from the opening movement continues.
 * Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf

3. Allegro con fuoco: A thunderous finale mixes all of the themes from the horns, the piano and the strings in a uplifting and inspiring and blazing finale, ending in the key of D major.
 * Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf

Instrumentation
The work is scored for solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. A notable feature is an opening triadic solo for the natural horn which predates the much more famous example of Johannes Brahms's B-flat concerto by around 20 years.

Recordings

 * Jeanne-Marie Darré, piano, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, conducted by Louis Fourestier. 2 CD EMI 1955 1957 report 1996
 * Aldo Ciccolini, piano, Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Serge Baudo. 2 CD Emi 1971. Choc de Classica 2019
 * Philippe Entremont, piano, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, conducted by Michel Plasson, 2 CD CBS Sony 1976
 * Jean-Philippe Collard, piano, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by André Previn (2 CD EMI classics 1987).
 * Pascal Rogé, piano, Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit. 2 CD Decca 1981
 * Stephen Hough, piano, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo. 2 CD Hyperion 2001. Gramophone Awards Record of the Year 2002. Diapason d'Or, Choc Le Monde la Musique
 * Anna Malikova, piano, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, conducted by Thomas Sanderling. 2 SACD Audite 2010