Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Wars)
The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F minor, is a symphonic work for piano and orchestra completed by Henryk Wars in 1950. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hollywood, later the same decade, with his friend and student Harry Sukman providing the piano part.
| Concerto for Piano and Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Milky Way Concerto | |
| by Henryk Wars | |
| Key | F minor |
| Style | Neo-romantic |
| Form | Piano concerto |
| Composed | 1950 |
| Duration | 10 minutes |
| Premiere | |
| Date | late 1950s |
| Location | Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, United States |
| Conductor | Henry Vars |
| Performers | Harry Sukman (piano) |
The piece is a one-movement piano concerto incorporating melody of one of Wars' nostalgic wartime songs "Po mlecznej drodze" (1942) with lyrics by a poet Feliks Konarski about longing for Warsaw. The inclusion of this material may have inspired Wars to consider giving his work the title of Milky Way Concerto, as evidenced in various sketches for the work held at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. The composition is often compared to the works of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.