Piano Concerto No. 4 (Ries)

The Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor, Op. 115 by Ferdinand Ries was composed in Bonn in 1809 but was not published until 1823 when it was released by both H.A. Probst of Leipzig and Birchall & Cº of London with a dedication to Ignaz Moscheles.^[1]^[2]

Composition history

According to Allen Badley, Ries completed the concerto around 1809, before embarking on his European tours.^[2] This would make the concerto the second of the composers eight piano concertos to be written.^[a] Badley further comments that compared with the Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 126 that this concerto has much more individuality compared with the earlier work which shows the influence of Beethoven's C minor Piano Concerto, Op. 37, the work Ries had performed on his debut.^[3] As with the concerti Op. 120, 123 & 132, this concerto was published at a time Ries was retiring from being a touring performer and no longer needed to keep these works, which formed the basis of his performing repertoire secret.

Structure

The concerto follows the traditional three-movement structure:

Allegro
Molto adagio
Rondo: Allegretto

Recordings

To date the concerto has only been recorded once, by Uwe Grodd with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and soloist Christopher Hinterhuber, this was released by Naxos Records^[b] in conjunction with a publication of the score in a critical edition prepared by Allen Badley.^[4]

References

Notes

^ Concerto no. 4 refers to the order of publication, not composition, and likewise for all of Ries's concertos.
^ Paired with a recording of the composers Op. 120 concerto.

^ Hill 1977, pp. 121 & 122
^ ^a ^b Badley 2010, p. 3
^ McGorray 2015, p. 54
^ McGorray 2015, p. 59

Sources

Badley, Allan (2010). Ries, F.: Piano Concertos, Vol. 4 - Piano Concertos, Opp. 115 and 120 (CD). Naxos Records. 8.557844.
Hill, Cecil (1977). Ferdinand Ries: A Thematic Catalogue. Armidale, NSW: University of New England. ISBN 0-85834-156-5.
Hill, Cecil (1982). "Ferdinand Ries. A Study and Addenda". Occasional Paper. Armidale, NSW: University of New England. ISSN 0314-5999.
McGorray, Ian (2015-07-21). Ferdinand Ries and the Piano Concerto: Beethoven's Shadow and the Early Romantic Concerto (M.M.). University of Cincinnati.

External links

Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 115: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[3] Concerto no. 4 refers to the order of publication, not composition, and likewise for all of Ries's concertos.

[5] Paired with a recording of the composers Op. 120 concerto.

[Hill1977-1] Hill 1977, pp. 121 & 122

[BadleyP3-2] Badley 2010, p. 3

[McGorreyP54-4] McGorray 2015, p. 54

[6] McGorray 2015, p. 59

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v t e Concertos by Ferdinand Ries
Piano	E-flat major, Op. 42 C-sharp minor, Op. 55 C minor, Op. 115 D major, Op. 120 (Concerto Pastoral) C major, Op. 123 A minor, Op. 132 (Abschieds-Concert von England) A-flat major, Op. 151 (Gruss an den Rhein) G minor, Op. 177
Piano and orchestra	Swedish National Airs with Variations, Op. 52 Grand Variations on 'Rule, Britannia', Op. 116 Introduction et Rondeau brillant, Op. 144 Introduction et Variations Brillantes, Op. 170 Introduction and Polonaise, Op. 174 Introduction et Rondeau Brillant, WoO. 54 Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, WoO. 88 (lost)
Violin	Concerto in E minor, Op. 24
Horn	Concerto for Two Horns in F major, WoO. 19
List of compositions by Ferdinand Ries