Benjamin Godard: Piano Concerto No.1, 2

Benjamin Godard

Benjamin Godard, c. 1880, Bibliothèque nationale de France

 

Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (18 August 1849 – 10 January 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction.[1] Godard composed eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concertos, string quartets, sonatas for violin and piano, piano pieces and etudes, and more than a hundred songs. He is best known for his opera Jocelyn. He died at the age of 45 in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) of tuberculosis and was buried in the family tomb in Taverny in the French department of Val-d'Oise

[바이올린의 신동이었던 그는 작곡을 공부했으며 청년시절에 교향곡·실내악곡·협주곡·피아노곡을 작곡했다. 걸작 오페라 〈조슬랭 Jocelyn〉(1881) 중 〈자장가〉는 널리 알려진 곡이다. 그밖에 오페라 〈살라메아의 페드로 Pedro de Zalamea〉(1884)·〈병영의 매점 La Vivandiere〉(1895)·〈전설교향곡 Symphonie Legendaire〉 작품 100(1886)이 있다. 고다르의 음악은 여리고 감상적이며 절정기의 작품은 쇼팽과 슈만의 음악과 비슷하다.

 

Piano Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 31

I. Andante - Allegro vivace 0:00​ II. Scherzo: Allegretto non troppo 9:56​

III. Andante quasi adagio 14:45​ IV. Allegro ma non troppo - Vivace 22:26​

Victor Sangiorgio, piano Royal Scottish National Orchestra Martin Yates, conductor

 

Piano Concerto No.2, Op.148

Victor Sangiorgio (piano), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Martin Yates (conductor)
I. Con moto. — Allegro. — Moderato – 00:00
II. Andante. — 09:14
III. Scherzo. Allegretto – 16:09
IV. Andante maestoso. — Moderato – 19:29

 

Godard's Second Piano Concerto is in four movements. Unusually, the first movement divides into three distinct sections: Con moto, Allegro and Moderato. In place of the typical orchestral introduction, the opening con moto is dominated by the piano, playing characteristic con moto semiquaver figuration, which is reminiscent of the Baroque, against which the orchestra interjects fragmented snatches of melody, so typical of Godard's style. The concluding Moderato section contains full orchestral passages, giving way to some highly chromatic piano flourishes with which the movement ends. The Andante opens with a seraphic chorale-like melody in B flat major in the piano part. This melody is developed throughout the movement, as it passes through several sections of the orchestra, with various embellishments. The orchestral texture gradually builds as the music modulates through many keys. The movement with a number of chromatic flourishes in the piano part, leading directly into the Scherzo. Reminiscent of Mendelssohn, the Scherzo, which opens in F minor, presents a lively dialogue between the piano and the orchestra as the energetic theme is swiftly passed between the two. Similar to the first movement, the finale also defies expectations on several levels. In place of the conventional fast, concluding movement, Godard prefers moderate tempos, and further departs from tradition by sub-dividing this movement into two sections: Andante maestoso and Moderato. The introductory Andante maestoso begins with one of Godard's hallmark short melodic phrases, this time taken by the bassoon. The Moderato section is heralded by a brief, six-bar orchestral interlude, which introduces the soft, detached (staccato) writing and the ascending six-note motif that characterises much of this section. This motif undergoes several developments throughout the remainder of the movement as it is passed various members of the orchestra and the piano. The movement gradually builds in dynamic and orchestral texture and concludes with triumphant chordal writing and full orchestra." (from album notes by Laura Hamer, 2012)