Mystery Piece 3: Piano Concerto

Mystery Piece 3: Piano Concerto Of all the mystery pieces, I found the third to be the most entertaining and most musically rich. The piece contains many instruments, dynamics, and themes that have been featured throughout the course. While it is apparent that there are multiple inspirations from classical western art music, there are some very Americans and new ideas contained in the piece. For starters, the main instrument featured is none other than the piano. This isn’t a surprise, as Americans loved the unique and practical sound of the piano throughout musical history and these piece is no different. In addition, there is a full orchestra behind the keyboard. Thought the piece, the orchestra plays many roles. Sometimes they play all

Since the piece is so long, there are many themes and section s that are displayed. That being said, there are some common tones and groupings that repeat themselves. One key featured the piece uses is ritornellos and episodes. At first, this piece might not seem like a concerto, especially compared to those typical of western art music. The solo voice isn’t at all like the ones found in concertos like Vivaldi or Bach. There is much more expression in this modern piece of American music, but at the same time it follows the concerto mold perfectly. There are contrasting sections followed by the orchestra playing all their force,

The entire overarching themes of this piece are very playful. You here this a lot in the use of percussion. Percussion in classical style music, especially instruments like the triangle, xylophone, and tambourine are usually associated with playful moods and atmospheres. Since this piece has many small percussion sections, one could infer this piece might be of playful nature. But at the same time, there are regal and grand piano episodes that signify that the piece still is meant to depict grander and more important things along the way. While this is just my guess and own opinion, I associate this piece with the