This volume offers pianists a unique opportunity to study and master Chopin's two piano concertos: The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21. Although the composer wrote both works to launch his career as a concert artist, he soon abandoned the concert hall for the more intimate atmosphere of the salon and turned his creative attentions to the brilliant shorter works on which his reputation rests today. The concerti remain among the composer's few ventures in longer and more comprehensive musical forms.
Extended stretches of brilliant passagework and many moments of exquisite loveliness have made both works favorites with music lovers. Now pianists can explore their beauty and expressiveness with this practical playing and study edition. It contains the original solo piano parts of the concerti as well as a skillful piano reduction of the original orchestral parts. This means a pianist can play the solo part while the second piano functions as the "orchestra." Clearly printed and sturdily bound in this high-quality volume, these scores are an effective, practical way for students to learn, practice, and rehearse these masterworks of the piano repertoire.