Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 36
I. Allegro Maestoso
a plaintive melody sounds, pianissimo, from one oboe,
clarinets join, harmonizing below,
cellos and basses add a low rumble, as distant thunder–
the orchestra swells, tutti, as the timpani crescendo into a sforzando
a moment of rest, then
the piano enters, carrying the tune the oboe introduced, accompanied
by simple diatonic chords
the oboe returns, then clarinets, violas, and the bassoon enter,
adding lines to the polyphony, as if the melody had been revealed
as it is sung in galaxies across the multiverse
the piano becomes a counterpoint of virtuosic, aggressive,
dissonant insistence, knocking instruments off the playing field,
one by one, until the piano sings alone
low crashes in the bass register, delicate filigree dancing in the highest,
building to a climax of cascading octaves, complex arpeggios,
and the oboe’s melody, ringing out like a bell in the middle register of the piano
then, as the final chord of the piano is fading, the oboe sings its tune once more