# Forgotten Romantic Era Adagios/Andantes (3rd in a Series): Bennett Piano Concerto 1



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) composed his Piano Concerto #1, Op. 1 in 1832 at the age of 16-17. This Andante Expressivo is an amazing work for such a young age. It may take a few listenings to fully appreciate its beauty and originality. At the very least, it has one of the most beautiful openings and endings that I've ever heard. Please, don't miss the ending!

Bennett was an English composer who spent his early years composing and performing on the piano. He established a close relationship with Mendelssohn and Schumann and was apparently devastated by Mendelssohn's death in 1847. In the mid 1840s he essentially abandoned composing to get married and devote himself to teaching and administrative duties.

His early music (which includes all of his 5 piano concertos) received very favorable attention by the public and fellow composers, but when he returned to composing in the late 1850's, his music was said to be not in keeping with the changing times.






http://www.talkclassical.com/42454-forgotten-romantic-era-adagios.html
http://www.talkclassical.com/42574-forgotten-romantic-era-adagios.html


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Yikes! I thought he was going all Pachelbel's Canon on us at first, but it gets better. Reminds a lot of Beethoven's slow movements.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

It appears that the video above is now 'unavailable'. This link seems to work:


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