Jonathan Leshnoff was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on September 8, 1973. The first performance of the Piano Concerto took place at Helzberg Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 22, 2019, with Joyce Yang, soloist, and Michael Stern conducting the Kansas City Symphony. In addition to the solo piano, the Concerto is scored for three flutes (3rd flute doubling piccolo), three oboes (3rd oboe doubling English horn), three clarinets (3rd clarinet doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons, (3rd bassoon doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, (1st trumpet doubling piccolo trumpet), three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, marimba, snare drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-three minutes.
Hailed by The New York Times as “a leader of contemporary American lyricism,” composer Jonathan Leshnoff has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. His works have been performed by orchestras worldwide and he has written for Noah Bendix-Balgley, Gil Shaham, Johannes Moser, Joyce Yang, and Manuel Barrueco. Recordings of Leshnoff’s works are released on the Naxos label. His catalog includes numerous symphonies, concerti, solo/chamber music works, and oratorios Jonathan Leshnoff is a Professor of Music at Towson University.
Leshnoff and pianist Joyce Yang first met in 2017, at the introduction of mutual friend Larry Tucker. In February of 2018, Leshnoff saw Joyce Yang perform in concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and “was blown away by her sublime phrasing and virtuosity.” Leshnoff and Yang immediately began discussing the prospect of a new piano concerto. By March of 2019, Leshnoff shared a full draft of the score with Yang. The two met in Baltimore that month and reviewed the work. Leshnoff revised the concerto, incorporating Yang’s suggestions, and the piece was completed shortly thereafter.
The composer provides the following commentary on his Piano Concerto:
The concerto is cast in four movements. The prominent, stately principal theme appears shortly after the opening of the concerto; this theme is then developed through rapid and energetic conversations between the piano and orchestra. The second movement is slow and contemplative, bringing out the soft nuances of the piano. Climaxing with an iteration of the principal theme, the movement then sinks back to its meditative stance before ending mysteriously. A humorous, brief scherzo precedes the final movement which is kinetic and propulsive. The concerto ends with a triumphant restatement of the main theme, but this time, in full confidence and grandeur.
Leshnoff finds Jewish mysticism and spirituality to be an inexhaustible inspiration for his music. This piano concerto is inspired by the ancient Jewish mystical tradition that everything in the universe has a soul, from human, animal, plant to inanimate objects. This tradition teaches that the soul is taught to have five parts. The second movement of this concerto is the composer’s impression of the 3rd level of the soul, “Neshama,” Hebrew for “breathing soul” and associated with the Hebrew letter “hey” : it is this part of the soul that expresses itself in thoughts and ideas and is housed in the brain. The second movement of the concerto is Leshnoff’s musical painting of the Neshama. He explains: “On paper, this movement is written with very simple rhythms and melodies. It is up to the artist to connect her mind and essence with the music that will bring these simple structures it to full, breathing life. The movement is purposely slow and meditative which bring the soloist and audience to internal, contemplation without the “distraction” of virtuosity. It is this internal contemplation which is the essence of the Neshama.
Program notes by Ken Meltzer