Concert Piece

The work is in one movement, but the tempi are clearly in three parts. The slow corner sections correspond roughly to the exposition as well as the recapitulation and coda of a sonata form, the fast middle section to a free development with partly new material. However, the three formal sections are not quite congruent with the tempo changes. This creates a certain fuzziness. This is intensified by the temporary back and forth between the old and the new tempo during the tempo changes. The arch-shaped work begins and ends in C minor and in a low register. During the exposition of the main theme, the trumpets are still silent. The listener could be reminded of Shostakovich, and in the case of the secondary theme also of Bruckner. In sharp contrast to this is a C major episode in the fast middle section, whose almost baroque joy of playing and splendour may be perceived as parodic in the context of the work's gloomy mood: scale busyness and virtuosity as an end in itself.