Per Nørgård

Piano Concerto

Per Norgard PIANO CONCERTO 'Concerto in due Tempi' was composed 1994-95 and dedicated to Per Salo, the pianist who also gave the world premiere on May 5, 1996 with the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. The work has a duration of appr. 30 minutes. It unfolds itself as an uninterrupted interplay between the piano and the orchestral instruments, often in soloistic or chamber music combinations. An alto saxophone separates itself from the rest of the instruments, but contributes in a dramatic way to the ensemble playing, as a kind of 'anti-soloist'. 'Due tempi' does not refer to the number of movements, of which there is only one. This movement, however, invites a three-part interpretation (downwards, solo cadenza in the bass register, upwards!). The 'two tempi' in fact exist simultaneously and are in the ratio 7:5 (approximately the square root of two). Per Norgard