Bloch Blog
I am playing the 1st, 2nd, and 4th movements of Bloch's Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra and Piano obbligato with the string orchestra at the school where I teach.
It seems like it would be a really good piece to use if many of your string players were not really strong. This is because many of the string parts are doubled in the piano part throughout much of the work.
The piece begins with a bombastic, romantic prelude. There is one tricky passage in the first movement. Between rehearsal numbers 4 and 5, during the five measures of 16th notes, I have found that the shifting of the strong beats between the hands can be a little rhythmically disorienting for the pianist.
The 2nd movement is a dirge that includes nice solos for violin and viola.The 4th movement is a fugue in which a bit of the material from the 1st movement returns.
Another performance issue regarding this piece involves the placement of the piano. I don't know if the conductor's score says anything about this, but it seems to work well to have the piano behind the second violins. In that location, it supports the strings better, and it doesn't interfere with the audience seeing what's going on during the more chamber music-like moments.
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