Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto was composed between 1996 and 1997 on a commission from the BBC for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The piece was first performed by the pianist

Rolf Hind Rolf Hind (born 1964 in London) is a British pianist and composer. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the University of California, Los Angeles. Biography Rolf Hind was born in London to a German mother and an English fa ...

and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by

Mark Wigglesworth Mark Wigglesworth (born 19 July 1964) is a British conductor. Biography Born in Sussex, Wigglesworth attended Bryanston School, Manchester University, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He won the Kondrashin Conducting Competition in ...

St David's Hall St David's Hall (Welsh: ''Neuadd Dewi Sant'') is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff, Wales. St David's Hall is the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales. It hosts the annual Welsh Proms and the bienni ...

, Cardiff, on 6 June 1997.

Composition

The concerto has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is cast in four numbered movements. The work is scored for solo piano and a large orchestra comprising two flutes (2nd doubling

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

), two oboes (2nd doubling

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

), two

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s, two

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, two-to-three percussionists,

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

Reception

The Piano Concerto has received a mostly positive reception from music critics. Reviewing a recording of the work performed by

Sunwook Kim Sunwook Kim (born 1988 in Seoul) is a South Korean pianist living in London. He came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006. Early life Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea on 22 A ...

and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Arnold Whittall of ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' observed, "The Piano Concerto owes an explicit debt to her teacher, Ligeti, but it also represents a gesture of independence. Its coruscating toccatas and interlocking rhythmic patterns acquire a distinctive luminosity in structures that constantly evolve and threaten disorientation, only to find new ways of suggesting stability. The piece works well when given the kind of effortlessly precise and virtuoso interpretation from both soloist and orchestra that it receives here." Andrew Clements of '' The Guardian'' also noted similarities to the music of Ligeti, writing, "...the solo writing often seems close to that of Ligeti's '' Piano Studies'' with extra layers of orchestral decoration added, though as the soloist Sunwook Kim shows, the total effect is undeniably brilliant and effective."

References

{{Unsuk Chin Compositions by Unsuk Chin 1997 compositions Unsuk Chin Music commissioned by the BBC