Bortkiewicz - Piano Concerto No.3 "Per aspera ad astra", Op. 32 (Doniga, Porcelijn)

The 3rd Piano Concerto, written in 1926, is headed “Per aspera ad astra” (through hardship to the stars), which is presented in the gradual unfolding from a dark C minor to a high and luminous C major at the end of the work, including organ and bells, the affirmation of light conquering darkness.
I. Grave - 00:09
II. Cadenza - 4:21
III. Andante - 6:12
IV. Lento, Maestoso, Solenne - 17:08
V. Moderato - 23:07
Stefan Doniga (piano), Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and David Porcelijn (conductor)

[@SeigneurReefShark]

I. Grave - 00:09 II. Cadenza - 4:21 III. Andante - 6:12 IV. Lento, Maestoso, Solenne - 17:08 V. Moderato - 23:07

[@aramkhachaturian8043]

Bortkiewics is a hidden treasure just liek Moszkowski. I can't believe their piano concerto's aren't mainstream

[@Roescoe]

Most likely to not being in fashion with 20th century music. Their actually beautiful music will live on a lot longer though.

[@brazilamaral]

This is not very good

[@Roescoe]

@@brazilamaral Please elaborate

[@Roescoe]

Oof removed "I could write something better". Yeah, I was waiting for you to make a stupid claim. I do actually encourage people to write good music though. Your channel appears to only repost other musicians performances.

[@brazilamaral]

@@Roescoe I deleted because I did not hear the whole thing. but probably I am correct.

[@DavidFelipeAlvaradoSalas]

I am absolutely floored by this concerto, just wow. I love everything, but the climax at 26:25 really speaks to me. It's a shame that something this beautiful is so unknown. I will definitely learn this concerto and (hopefully) play it.

[@kunalex4236]

That part is literally a copy from liszts second piano concerto.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

@@kunalex4236 Tchaikovsky literally stole from Liszt’s 2nd also, in fact there’s an octave passage in his B-flat minor Concerto which steals note for note. Nobody really cares, because the music is still great. I would say in this case it’s Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony he had in mind, because it has the same effect and Bortkiewicz was living in Vienna at the time, so probably knew it.

[@careyhendersonvocalstudios5429]

@@danielgloverpiano7693 "Good composers borrow; great ones steal." -- Igor Stravinsky (allegedly)

[@pablos5463]

lograste grabar el concierto interpretado por vos? me gustaria escucharlo!!!

[@dulvab9968]

I love finding unknown composers, definitely gling to listen to more of Bortkiewicz's works.

[@emilyhutjes]

Listen to his concerto NO: 1 !

[@DailyKosia]

One of my favourites piano concertos, maybe the most.

[@groucho915]

Certified hidden gem

[@kmrerk]

WOW ! This really pits the piano effectivly against the orchestra. Never a dull moment or trivial padding. Glorious !

[@robertcohn8858]

The title of "musical genius" is not over-effusive praise for Bortkiewicz. I really enjoyed this work - especially the ethereal effect starting at 18:28. Thanks so much for posting.

[@Wuozlinga]

Yes. This section alone made him enter my personal all time hall of fame.

[@henrykwieniawski7233]

Was seriously expecting some uninspirational, boring contemporary composer, but I am pleasantly surprised! This is a WONDERFUL concerto!! Bravo to the composer!!!

[@towardthesea_]

Plenty of contemporary music is neither "uninspirational" or "boring", regardless of what your stylistic preferences are (it's not a monolith either.) No need to (incorrectly) denigrate something else to praise this concerto.

[@ДарьяОпрышко-н8х]

Музыка, похожая сразу на всех и на всё)))

[@ex867gahyunhan6]

Every part of this concerto gives me goosebumps. The score looks like it's just bunch of arpeggios and chords, but that every arpeggios and chords are perfect.

[@macchupicchu3]

It has been a very very long time since I came across a new piano concerto that I enjoyed this much

[@thibomeurkens2296]

One of the best and most beautiful pieces ever written!

[@bloba6969]

If I had a concerto to choose, that I needed to prepare and perform, it'd be this one. Obviously i don't have to, nor have I the skills to do it, but I dream about that only when I listen to this concerto.

[@steveegallo3384]

Splendid.....ALWAYS repays Re-hearing!

[@Pablo-gl9dj]

After several re-hearings I discovered that this is the original sound track for 'Star Wars'

[@teimurazsoupymolduri4340]

Very true, my friend

[@shimyy5658]

Today I just discovered this concerto and oh my god this shit is just perfect. Just some bars after section 1 and I knew this composer was going places, really good places. It's nowhere near the stupid and useless harmonical levels of contemporary music (which I love) BUT DAMN this guy knows how to move harmonically without it being boring. Sometimes it felt as if Debussy wrote a Piano Concerto at his early years, damnnn I loved every minute of this piece. Really looking forward into more music from this Bortkiewics guy. Also, thanks KZbin! Your strange recommendation led me to some fine art!

[@towardthesea_]

"Contemporary music" is not a monolith. Some of it is harmonically very simple, some of it is very harmonically complex, some of it dispenses with harmony altogether. And why compare it with this concerto? There are great Romantic works like this one and great contemporary works too.

[@LudwigvanBeethoven2]

First time hearing this composer. I think this is so underrated!

[@bcing75]

This is one of favorite concertos hand down! I just discovered Bortkiewicz; love it!

[@zacharydetrick7428]

Hidden gem for sure...

[@sucroseboy4940]

Thank you! This is such a great concerto. Especially the last movement is amazing

[@Enkaptaton]

How many Wagner Leitmotivs can on hide in a piano concerto? Bortkiewicz: Yes

[@marcscratch33]

really?

[@georgetowner3668]

To my ear, the fourth movement - 17:08, marked slow, majestic, solemn - is one of the most moving in the orchestral repertory (Tchaikovsky included). Why it is so unknown is a mystery.

[@pianoforte4u]

Simply mesmerizing!

[@rosiefay7283]

6:13 reminded me of Skryabin (e.g. the 4th sonata). 9:04 reminded me of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht. 11:39 reminded me of Rakhmaninov's 2nd concerto. 25:13 reminded me of the finale of Liszt's Eb major concerto.

[@kofiLjunggren]

11:48 Scriabin Piano comcerto

[@msb-pravo]

19:09-19:27 Used in half of the soundtracks))

[@aidenpeleg2789]

Too me it's all overwhelmingly Wagner! Such a great find!

[@Enkaptaton]

@@aidenpeleg2789 Indeed. I should listen again and make a list

[@karrotkake]

the whole concerto is quite scriabin-like

[@emilyhutjes]

So wonderful this concert and that lovable melody. Thank you very much. 🌷🌷🌷(Netherlands)

[@daviddunlap8930]

wow! What a fine concerto! (And with a part for organ in it!!)

[@tompommerel2136]

The wonderful thing about our extraordinary electronic age is that today we can hear and study the superlative mastery of those composers/performers whose innovations enabled giants (like Rachmaninov in his case) to emerge. Thankfully, the history of art is no longer about the giants but grounded on our understanding and appreciation of those contributing to the context by which geniuses were able to emerge.

[@janhoppezak9731]

another great treasure, fantastic!!

[@timofeytereshenko]

The score video I needed! Thank you for your work

[@jacekkrzywicki195]

for me to refer Aspera 0:00-15:22 Transition 15:33-17:00 Astra 17:01-29:00 Aspera motive: 5:20-6:12, 9:02-9:59, 14:30-15:08

[@fredericchopin7538]

Magnificent!

[@funicon3689]

awesome! thanks for showing me this

[@pinocesi8402]

From to eternity ❤

[@camillebouchard6436]

Super !

[@leviguedes1968]

Um tesouro!

[@dustinlaferney3160]

This is FIRE!

[@johannesbluemink4581]

I checked my collection and I have the very recording on CD!

[@PieInTheSky9]

Gives me Kurt Atterberg vibes.

[@icanogar]

If a lift ride needed 29 minutes of music, this concert would be perfect.

[@Emilien-hy3sy]

Organ and bells, WHAT A FINALE!

[@thenameisgsarci]

Oooooh nice

[@itsshrimp91]

This piece is only unpopular due to its technical difficulty but I call that a skill issue on anyone else's part. Marvelous and at the same time aggressive!!!

[@donaldlavergne4113]

I agree... et on peut ajouter Paderewski, tous des musiciens extraordinaires dont je n'avais jamais entendu parler il y a 6 mois. Amazing! Vive la musique slave...

[@feyindecay912]

Hey, that's the Motto of my university!

[@lucianoiovino304]

Great

[@teimurazsoupymolduri4340]

Genius

[@TheJedo]

9:21 Concerto No. 2 quote

[@Valheurbia]

26:26 my hearttt

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

1:28 is this a reference to the beginning of the fugato variation in Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune?

[@dulvab9968]

It's possible but I can't find any information about it.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

@@dulvab9968it could also be a reference to Beethoven Opus 111, and his own C minor Concerto, both of which pertain to human struggle, as does this piece.

[@musicjotter]

I "think" this concerto was influenced by Edward MacDowell's piano concerto 2, but I am unsure. Even so, this piano concerto is a must listen. It's better than MacDowell's concerto in my opinion. 10:41 is what makes this entire concerto worth it. It shows a classic Bortkiewcz who demonstrates powerful orchestral techniques. This is a great teaching moment on how an excellent theme that is properly harmonized can engage a listener. Then he takes it even further and leads to an even more powerful derivative of the theme at 11:55 with the piano taking the lead here. I'm definitely learning a lot from this man's compositional style, and the power of buildup and tension.

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

Derivative????

[@bellinivernon]

Que bien ... !

[@ayushrudra8600]

I can't be the only one to hear the similarities to tchaikovsky romeo and juliet

[@stankaplan7747]

And I thought my concert piece 'Octavius' had a lot of octaves!

[@onapecco]

yeah, this is beautiful piece.. to me, it sounds like Ballet music or Opera music without lyrics completely and felt the piano part took a role of harpist, some of this pieces are redundant. many times remains other composers' pieces...

[@ghaup]

1:29 sounds similar to Beethoven's 1st mov of 32 sonata allegro part.

[@You-qp1wp]

Понравилась драматургия произведения.

[@somonerandom706]

So many ads dude wtf

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Really ? I use ad block and I have no clue about it. KZbin really sucks for this, I'm sorry about that, i can't do anything

[@somonerandom706]

@Seigneur ReefShark oh I see that makes sense. Sorry it was such a good video and piece of music I was just disappointed every time an ad came up. Thanks for posting these works!

[@Trooman20]

The first theme in allegro vivace of the first movement sounds a bit similar to Beethoven's sonata no 32, was he inspired from it?

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

If you like Romantic concertos you will certainly enjoy this one. It resides in the same neighborhood as Rachmaninov but lacks the tightness of form that keeps a work bound together. The first movement just goes on and on with no sense that it will ever end. Of course, by 1926 the world of classical music was going modern. The new stuff made this sound a bit old fashioned.

[@KenBreadbox]

I think that lack of tightness of form is intentional. It is aspera after all, and aspera never seems like it's going to end.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

@@KenBreadbox The great composers always prepared the end in advance and when it arrives it is right on time.

[@mostafa12890]

⁠@@stephenjablonsky1941 That is intentional. In this case, the movement is intentionally written in a way that doesn’t allude to an end. It’s in the name.

[@PurpleSpaceKR]

Does anybody know where I can get the link of full orchestra score?

[@KapellmeisterBach]

Imslp

[@PurpleSpaceKR]

@@KapellmeisterBach no there isn't...

[@Man_k-ind]

26:25

[@scottw6704]

Love this but the ending is a bit prolix - could probably finish about 10 months early for a more dramatic impact (IMO)

[@deidara1792]

hahah. Final act of die walküre on some parts of the first movement

[@AbandonedMines11]

I hear a lot of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto in this one. I wonder who copied who?

[@segala7853]

You can hear elements of all the popular piano concertos The beginning mirrors Rachmaninoffs second concerto and quotes it alot This is perfectly fine

[@kaleidoscopio5]

The piano concerto that Wagner never composed 🤔

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

Yes, yes, yes ❤❤❤! There are also references to Richard Strauss, and Mahler at the end. There’s a Parsifal motive, and the Resurrection Symphony. Given that he was living in Vienna when he composed it, it’s not surprising.

[@kaleidoscopio5]

​@@danielgloverpiano7693😌😌😌

[@danielzarb-cousin8074]

I know exactly why this isn't mainstream. I'll tell you if you ask.

[@therakeshkrishna]

Why?

[@mugo_music]

bro forgot

[@aeroslothy]

Bro has dementia

[@ansonwong5490]

Sound a bit like Beethoven Op.111

[@lucianomicaroni]

è bello e c'è Rachmaninoff

[@herobrine1847]

Thumbnail 18:10

[@f.p.2010]

Rachmaninoff moment

[@biggreenlzrd]

I'm not sure what to say. I wanted to like it, but overall felt that this was a somewhat uninteresting concerto, even compared to other works by the same composer. Can't please them all, I suppose.

[@PieInTheSky9]

Profoundly disagree.

[@biggreenlzrd]

@@PieInTheSky9 That's OK. The nice thing about music is that different pieces appeal to different tastes. I'm glad you enjoy it, but it's not something I'll be adding to my repertoire anytime soon.

[@kaleidoscopio5]

It is an interesting Concerto, but the Second one is far more inspired 😊

[@alexwilson-smith5503]

Might have been a hit if it had commenced at 2:43 and ended with a loop-to-fade of the C minor phrase at 16:37. The C major "stars" ending is bombastic and naff. The intro's not very nice either.

[@d.o.7784]

Is this even meant to be played by humans?

[@SeigneurReefShark]

What else than a human could play it so well ?

[@PieInTheSky9]

@@SeigneurReefShark Gods

[@andreassorg7294]

OMG.... As if a minor talented boy composer pressed out that his beloved girl doesn't want him

[@segala7853]

Why the animosity man

[@andreassorg7294]

@@segala7853 why not

[@andreassorg7294]

There are 3 categories (not only) in Russian music: The 1st (the highest): geniuses, who open future doors for the progress of musical language like Glinka, Tchaikowsky, Mussorgky, Scriabin, Prokofjev, Strawinsky, Shostakowitch, Schnittke The 2nd: (the middle): minor geniuses, who fulfill, what the 1st category achieved like Rachmaninov, Ljapunov, Glasunov, Kalinnikov, Borodin, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov etc. The 3rd (the lowest): amateurs, who don't care about anything and fulfill their own inability like Bortkiewicz

[@matthewli647]

disagree but ok

[@andreassorg7294]

@@matthewli647 where do you disagree?

[@andrewpetersen5272]

Find him a bit of a hack.

[@andrewpetersen5272]

Rachmaninoff in the second tier. You're a bit loopy.

[@andrewpetersen5272]

Glinka was a mediocre miniaturist. Kitsch in his own time.

[@davidphillips3925]

Beautiful to listen to but otherwise not very interesting.

[@andreassorg7294]

18:40 why staccato, when legato is written??? The will even of bad composers should be respected

[@segala7853]

Why are you even listening to it in the first place? So you can wag your fingers at the emotion being put onto the page?

[@andreassorg7294]

@@segala7853 "Why are you even listening to it in the first place? " because without listening i can't judge, wise man🤣🤣

[@MrMe-wc6kh]

that's just terrible, I am sorry. Each bar more disconnected to the previous one.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

Did you listen to the whole piece? The piece has an overall arch that must be experienced before you can make such a judgement.

[@altoclef4249]

then i'd like to see you write a piano concerto better than this one

[@tj-co9go]

That's his style. You might not like it, and I can understand that. But there's a certain charm to it. Bortkiewicz was trying to express a different idea than what a more rigid structure would have allowed him.

[@eliottnahon8128]

2:43 : this is perhaps the most beautiful musical theme I've ever heard, so much harmony and emotion !

[@alexbizannes7501]

May God give you the strength to help youj manage your life My thoughts are with you

[@malcolmdale9607]

I'm 85, been listening to classical music since I was 3 when I found my grandfather's record collection and I've never heard this before, nor even heard of the composer.

[@dale4853]

Much wandering but never finding a home.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

That’s literally what the piece is about. Look up what „Per aspera ad astra“ means. The composer did a great job, because you got what he was going for. Good on you!

[@andreassorg7294]

Only sequences and repetitions, but very honest music, which doesn't hide its worthlessness

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

And why is it worthless in your estimation, given the many positive comments on this thread? I would say worthless music would be most pop music. This is far from worthless, especially in its effective and uplifting finale, which is reminiscent of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. I hear influences of Wagner, Richard Strauss, of course Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. I have been performing a short Bortkiewicz Prelude in E-flat minor this season as an encore and it has received universal visceral reaction whenever I’ve played it. The response is always the same: how come we’ve never heard this great music before? As you say, it’s honest and not pretentious at all. It expresses the trauma of the composer’s life very deeply and I’m sorry that this doesn’t move you. It moves me, and most who hear it. There are humans who can’t relate to a six hour Wagner opera, and yet that’s what moves me most and I find the most profound (especially Parsifal and Tristan). It’s subjective, of course.

[@andreassorg7294]

@@danielgloverpiano7693 First of all: Thank you for discussing with me in a serious way. It's the esception here. I mean "worthless" in an artistic way, not in a moral. Of course you can join the composer's life with his work and judge it, but you also cannot, like I do. It's only 2 kinds of points of view. Easily said: I don't like composers, who are fallen out of time and ignore, what was achieved already. Bort composed like (bad) Tchaikovsky, when there was already Skrjabin, Rachmaninov, even Prokofjev, Strawinsky etc. Would you appreciate a contemporary composer, who composed like Hindemith?

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

@@andreassorg7294 I have a hard time deciding where our contemporary composers are. We have minimalists like Philip Glass and there are many composers still writing in highly tonal idioms. I don’t think the concept of being original is so valued as it was in the early 20th Century. I recently went to Mason Bates’ opera The Revolution of Steve Jobs and it felt like it was highly indebted to John Adams. I noticed that the way the opera was structured (in 13 disjointed scenes, and all in one act) it was in the Mussorgsky tradition. The same is true of Berg’s Wozzeck. I liked the Bates but felt it was somewhat derived and not terribly original. You sound like a composer. Am I right? The closest I’ve gotten to composing is writing my own cadenzas for Mozart Concertos and I wrote one for the Clementi Concerto, which I performed a week ago. It was fun, but I stuck closely to his style, with no contemporary influence. There’s an atonal cadenza by Schnabel for one Mozart Concerto and I find it bizarre. Nice chatting with you. Yes, it’s refreshing to have real in depth discussions with someone as knowledgeable as you. Some of the effusive comments on here are a bit embarrassing. I would never pretend this was the greatest Concerto ever written, and can certainly see why it’s not standard repertoire, but it definitely has enough going on so that I would spend the energy to learn and perform it. I also think it has an instant appeal that audiences would appreciate and react enthusiastically to. It’s a language they’re familiar with and will absorb at first hearing.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

@@andreassorg7294 PS a composer wrote a concerto for me in 2015. I gave the world premiere and later recorded it in Slovakia with the Slovak National Symphony. He asked me for a list of my favorite concertos to play and then proceeded to incorporate certain features in the piece. The finale owes something to Samuel Barber, especially rhythmically. I was amused to read in Barber’s biography that he had asked John Browning the same questions when he composed the Piano Concerto and there are definitely shades of Rachmaninoff’s writing in it, although the audience wouldn’t be aware of it. There’s a noodling finger passage in the finale taken straight from the Paganini Rhapsody, which Barber heard Browning perform with the NY Philharmonic. The two men worked closely together when the piece was being composed and I had the same fantastic experience. I feel as though “my” concerto is partially my own.

[@andreassorg7294]

@@danielgloverpiano7693 Yes, I'm composer and pianist. Take a look at my works at IMSLP. Why not upload your cadencas there? It would be interesting. I agree with your 1st sentence. But maybe every man felt in all times like this with his contemporaries. If you feel yourself sure in German, let's continue in German, if you want to. You write about Bort 3? Unfortunately, I wouldn't spend energy to learn it...sorry. I already had no patience to listen to it... I hope I don't offend you, if you like him