PIANO CONCERTO

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All this music is free. The music sounds best with headphones...This is written for a symphony orchestra with the usual line-up, except that the 2nd oboe plays cor anglais (English Horn) and the trombone section is best with 3 tenor trombones and 1 bass trombone, although it can also be played by 3 tenor trombones or 2 tenor and one bass trombone and tuba. It can be played with the usual 2 trumpets or 4 which will give it a bit more power. Instead of a percussion section, the different parts are all played by a drummer (preferably a jazz drummer) using a normal drum kit. It also calls for a jazz pianist as there is a fair bit of improvising to do. This means that the piano soloist should be applauded for creativity rather than for technique. This is in line with the jazz ethos. Before Beethoven, soloists were given the opportunity to show what they could do in improvised cadenzas. This is no longer the case. So instead of showing off how many notes I can write in piano parts and how difficult to play they may be, I have kept things simple and let the soloists do their own thing. This will undoubtedly annoy some classical music people who like to know exactly what is coming next, but it will provide different renditions each time that the piece is played.

Remember, there are places along the way where the piano would play - check out the score. If interested, any jazz pianist could play along to the orchestral backing track and pause it where there are extended passages for them to solo.

Please note that there are two drum parts. One is the one I used for the soundbite and can be played exactly by classical musicians. To make the music come alive more and become more spontaneous, download the separate jazz drummer part and use instead of the drum kit part. The dynamics on both parts will probably need to be adjusted in perfomance. My apologies.

David Beebee, a wonderful pianist friend of mine has played the piano part on this concerto. Here is the first movement:

And the second movement:

And the third movement: