Overview

The main period of composition for this work was 1831, when Mendelssohn was staying in Munich during his grand tour across Europe. In October of the same year, it was premiered by the composer himself on the piano with the local orchestra, achieving great success. The following year, it was also performed at the salon of Parisian piano manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Erard, by the Philharmonic Society in London, and at a charity concert in Berlin. The London performance, in particular, was highly acclaimed, with Mendelssohn reporting to his family in a letter, "I may never have had such success in my life."[1] This work, which combines brilliant virtuosity for the pianist with profound lyricism, continued to be featured in many concerts thereafter. At the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, where Mendelssohn later served as music director, it was performed more frequently than his Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, throughout the 19th century.[2]

The score was first published in England without an opus number in 1832, and then with an opus number in Germany the following year, 1833. The latter publication includes a dedication to Delphine von Schauroth (1813–1887). She was a young pianist and composer who gave concerts across Europe from the age of nine. Mendelssohn first met her in Paris in 1825 and re-encountered her in Munich in 1830/1831. Mendelssohn, who had developed an affection for Schauroth, now grown into a beautiful and charming woman, frequently visited her during his stay in Munich, and it is said that they "exchanged sweet words."[3] Furthermore, a letter Mendelssohn sent to his family ten days before the premiere of this piece contains the remark, "She [Schauroth] composed a certain passage for my G minor concerto."[4] While the specific melody of the "certain passage" he referred to has not been identified, this episode is highly relevant to the reason for the dedication.

In this concerto, transitional passages are provided between each movement, allowing all movements to be performed continuously without pause. This creates a sense of a single, continuous flow from the beginning to the end of the piece, further enhancing the unity and dynamism of the work as a whole. The use of attacca between movements was a technique frequently employed by Mendelssohn, and similar structures can be observed in his Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Violin Concerto in E minor, and Symphony No. 3 in A minor "Scottish". Furthermore, this piece incorporates the cyclic return and transformation of themes throughout, resulting in a work with strong inter-movement connections.

First Movement: Molto Allegro con fuoco

Sonata form, G minor. A dramatic opening where the orchestra ascends from p to ff in just seven measures, immediately followed by the piano appearing and rushing up a scale in octave unison. After a powerful first theme is presented by the piano from measure 20, the first theme is immediately re-presented by the Tutti from measure 37 without pause. The orchestra briefly takes the lead in the music, but the piano quickly regains control with rapid scales in both hands. After a stormy piano solo in octaves, a lyrical second theme appears in B-flat major from measure 76. The way it modulates from B-flat major to B-flat minor, and then to D-flat major, by layering short two-measure phrases, is truly beautiful. In the subsequent development section, the piano primarily plays the role of orchestral obbligato, accompaniment, and harmonic reinforcement, but its rapid scales and arpeggios particularly highlight the fervor of the development. From measure 179, an orchestral introductory phrase, similar to the beginning of the piece, appears, leading into the recapitulation. Compared to the exposition, the recapitulation is significantly shortened in its development, with the second theme appearing just 17 measures from its start. This compositional technique of condensing the movement through rapid development contributes to heightening the work's tension. Although the melody of the second theme is soon yielded to the wind instruments, the piano's accompaniment figuration develops, leading through tempestuous swirling patterns, and the inversion of the introductory theme appears at the climax. As the lead is then yielded back to the orchestra, a fanfare by the wind instruments is played to bridge to the second movement. The fanfare, centered around the B natural in the brass instruments, transitions from G minor through E minor, leading to E major of the second movement.

Second Movement: Andante

Ternary form, E major. After a short introduction by the piano, the cellos and violas begin to sing a gentle melody. It is noteworthy that the violins, which have a brilliant sound, are deliberately rested, and instead, the main melody is given to the high register of the cellos. This creates a warm, mellow, and somewhat melancholic sound. Following the main section (a-a-b-a'), which resembles an operatic cavatina, the piano solo plays improvisatory figures with small note values in the B major middle section. Upon returning to the main section, these figures reappear as varied obbligato. In the second main section as well, low-pitched instruments remain the primary orchestral voice, but the piano's right hand, responding to them, concentrates on the high register, making the soloist's obbligato sound transparent. The rich sound of the low string melody, the freshness of the piano's high register, and the sense of perspective created by their combination are truly magnificent. It is also very interesting that E major, a sharp key, is given to this second movement, contrasting with the flat-key tonic (G minor). By choosing a distantly related key, the presence of a world detached from reality, somewhere else, might be implied here.

Third Movement: Presto—Molto Allegro e vivace

Rondo form with introduction, G major. As if shattering the dream of the previous movement, a fanfare in A minor rings out, plunging into the finale. This fanfare uses the same rhythmic motif as the fanfare placed in the transitional section between the first and second movements. After a rapid ascent reminiscent of the concerto's opening, at the moment energy reaches its peak, the accumulated energy explodes with a rapid G major descending arpeggio presented by the piano. The momentum carries directly into the main section. In the Molto Allegro e vivace of the main section, a joyful theme with striking dotted rhythms alternates with a lovely and light episode. In the final thematic section, the second theme of the first movement is quoted, followed immediately by a fermata (Adagio), as if holding its breath. However, in the next moment, the music vigorously resumes at f, concluding brilliantly in a grand finale.

[1] June 1, 1832, letter from Mendelssohn (London) to his family (Berlin). Helmut Loos and Wilhelm Seidel eds, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Sämtliche Briefe: Bd. 2 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2009), p. 550. (Hereafter, Briefe.)

[2] At the Gewandhaus Orchestra, this piece was performed 9 times during Mendelssohn's lifetime and 16 times from his death until 1881 (100th anniversary of the new hall's construction). Alfred Dörffel, Festschrift zur hundertjährigen Jubelfeier der Einweihung des Concertsaales im Gewandhause zu Leipzig, 25. November 1781 - 25. November 1881: Statistik der Concerte im Saale des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig (Leipzig: Breitkopf &Härtel, 1881), p. 39.

[3] June 26-27, 1830, letter from Mendelssohn (Munich) to his family (Berlin). Briefe: Bd. 2, p. 566. 

[4] October 6-7, 1831, letter from Mendelssohn (Munich) to his family (Berlin). Briefe: Bd. 3, p. 117.