Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Bruch)
concerto by Max Bruch
The Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 88a, was written by Max Bruch in 1912. It is in four movements, written in the rarely seen key of A♭ minor, and takes about 25 minutes to perform.
It is sometimes referred to as Bruch's Double Concerto, although this could also refer to his Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra, Op. 88 (1911). There are claims that the two-piano concerto is based on the earlier concerto, but thematically these two works seem to have little or nothing in common, and this supposed relationship seems to be an erroneous assumption based purely on the works having similar opus numbers.
Structure
The movements are:
History
In 1911, Bruch had heard the American duo-pianist sisters Rose and Ottilie Sutro play his Fantasy in D minor for 2 pianos, Op. 11, and was so delighted that he agreed to write a double concerto for them.
Bruch did not write an entirely fresh piece, but reworked music he had been writing for his planned Suite No. 3 for Organ and Orchestra (also referred to as his Orchestral Suite No.
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