Jennifer Higdon’s new Piano Concerto

December 4, 2009

By Tim Smith – Clefnotes

National Symphony premieres Higdon Piano Concerto on colorful program
If there were such a title as “The People’s Composer” in this country, Jennifer Higdon would be on the short list for receiving it.
She writes in an extraordinarily communicative manner, but without the slightest hint of pandering. There’s something very American in the sound of her music, and something I’m tempted to call joyful — not in terms of what is expressed (Higdon’s works cover a wide range of moods), but in how it is expressed.
She is a composer in love with composing. And her new Piano Concerto, given its premiere by the National Symphony Orchestra Thursday night with Yuja Wang as soloist and Andrew Litton conducting, exudes that enthusiasm in every one of the 19,000-plus notes of the solo part and who knows how many orchestral ones. (Higdon provided the piano total during a pre-performance onstage chat with Litton — a chat curiously and regrettably short on details about the music itself, which, I imagine, the audience would have appreciated.)
The concerto is big in structure and gesture, with three eventful movements. A soft-hued, rather jazzy keyboard passage sets the work in motion. The piano proceeds to engage in a vigorous dialogue with the orchestra throughout the first movement, which is punctuated by fluttering horn riffs and a striking, march-like theme that makes a few telling appearances. There’s a substantial cadenza, and an unexpected, exquisitely subtle ending. On first hearing, the second movement seems
a little padded with material, but there are many arresting features as Higdon makes effective use of piquant chromaticism. The finale, in the grand concerto tradition, goes for bravura above all else. It’s an exhilarating ride.

complete post here.