I. Allegro moderato II. Andante III. Allegro molto
Bartók composed his first concerto in 1926 and it was premiered the following year, under Furthwängler, with the composer as soloist. The first movement feels like a heated battle, fuelled by a variety of contrasting emotional impulses. The slow movement is a taut, gripping dialogue between the piano and the percussion instruments. Bartók here employs new techniques, describing precisely how the percussionist is to use his instruments. The confessional melody at the centre of the slow movement – played on the piano – is in contrast to the function hitherto allotted to it. Before the movement is over, a detail from the third movement is heard. The finale uses baroque stylistic elements. Although its virtuosic, dramatic fugato, evokes an era from the past, what the music expresses is new, original and gripping.