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Piano concerto

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History#

The earliest piano concertos were composed in London, inspired by instrument maker Johannes Zumpe. Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel and Carl Friedrich Abel began writing concertos for harpsichord and string ensemble in about 1730. During the Classical era, the form quickly took hold across Europe, especially Germany and Austria, becoming established with works especially by Mozart, along with lesser-known examples by Haydn, Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach, Carl Stamitz, and Joseph Wölfl. In the early Romantic period the piano concerto repertoire was added to most notably by Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hummel, Ferdinand Ries, and John Field. Well-known examples from the middle to late Romantic era include concertos by Edvard Grieg, Johannes Brahms, Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Alexander Scriabin, Antonín Dvořák, Edward MacDowell, and Franz Xaver Scharwenka wrote some lesser-known concertos during this time. In 1899, Amy Beach completed her Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, the first piano concerto composed by a female American composer. Edward Elgar made sketches for a piano concerto but never completed it. In the 19th century, Henry Litolff blurred the boundary between piano concerto and symphony in his five works entitled Concerto Symphonique, and Ferruccio Busoni added a male choir in the last movement of his hour-long concerto. Wilhelm Furtwängler wrote his Symphonic Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which lasts more than one hour, in 1924–1937. In a more general sense, the term “piano concerto” could extend to the numerous often programmatic concerted works for piano and orchestra from the era – Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Liszt’s Totentanz and Ruins of Athens Variations, and Richard Strauss’s Burleske are only a few of the hundreds of such works. The few well-known piano concertos that dominate 20th-century and 21st-century concert programs and discographies are only a small part of the repertoire that proliferated on the European music scene during the 19th century.

Piano duet

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Piano piece

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Piano quartet

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List of works#

The following is an incomplete list of piano quartets by famous and lesser-known composers. Ordering is by surname of composer.

A-B#

Elfrida Andrée
Piano Quartet A minor (1870)
Henk Badings
Piano Quartet (1973)
Jeanne Barbillion
Quatuor avec piano
Béla Bartók
Piano Quartet in C minor (1898)
Arnold Bax
Piano Quartet, in one movement (1922)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Quartet WoO 36, No. 1 in E-flat major (1785)
Piano Quartet WoO 36, No. 2 in D major (1785)
Piano Quartet WoO 36, No. 3 in C major (1785)
Opus 16/b: Piano Quartet in E-flat (1797) (arrangement of Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16)
Paul Ben-Haim
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.4 (1920)
Wilhelm Berger
Piano Quartet in A major, op. 21 (published 1887)
Piano Quartet in C minor, op. 100
Charles Auguste de Bériot
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 50 (1881)
Leopoldine Blahetka
Piano Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 43 (1836)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 44 (1837/38)
Arthur Bliss
Piano Quartet in A minor (1915)
Nancy Bloomer Deussen
Pacific City for Piano Quartet (2017)
Léon Boëllmann
Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 10 (c. 1890)
William Bolcom
Piano Quartet (1976)
Mélanie Bonis
Piano Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 69 (1905)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in D major, Op. 124 (1927)
Johannes Brahms
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 (1859)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 (1862)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 (1875)
Charlotte Bray
Replay (2011)
Zustände (2016)
Frank Bridge
Phantasy Piano Quartet in F-sharp minor, H. 94 (1910)
Dora Bright
Piano Quartet in D major (1893)
James Francis Brown
Piano Quartet (2004) '

C-D#

Alexis de Castillon
Piano Quartet in G minor, Op.7 (1869)
Georgy Catoire
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op.31 (1916)
Ernest Chausson
Piano Quartet in A major, Op.30 (1897)
Rhona Clarke
Undercurrent (2001)
Osvaldo Coluccino
Eco immobile (2002)
Aaron Copland
Piano Quartet (1950)
Vincent d’Indy
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op.7 (1878–88)
Tina Davidson
Barefoot (2011)
Leap (2020)
Peter Maxwell Davies
Piano Quartet (2007)
Emma Lou Diemer
Piano Quartet (1954)
Ernst von Dohnányi
Piano Quartet in F minor, (1894)
Théodore Dubois
Piano Quartet in A minor (1907)
Jan Ladislav Dussek
Piano Quartet in E-flat major (1804)
Antonín Dvořák
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 23 (1875)
Bagatelles, Op. 47 (for two violins, cello and harmonium (or piano); 1878)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 87 (1889)

E-F#

Danny Elfman
Piano Quartet (2017)
Rosalind Ellicott
Piano Quartet in D major (1895)
George Enescu
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 16 (1909)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 30 (1943–1944)
Gabriel Fauré
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15 (1876–79, Finale rev. 1883)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45 (1885–86)
Morton Feldman
Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello (1987)
Zdeněk Fibich
Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 11 (1874)
Graciane Finzi
Free Quartet (1984)
Elena Firsova
Frozen Time (2013-16)
Eugénie-Emilie Juliette Folville
1er Quatuor pour piano, Op. 9 (1885)
Jacqueline Fontyn
Musica a quattro for piano quartet (1966)
Arthur Foote
Piano Quartet in C major, Op. 23 (1890)
Erika Fox
Malinconia Militare for Piano Quartet (2003)
Richard Franck
Piano Quartet No.1 in A Major, Op.33 (1901)
Piano Quartet No.2 in E Major, Op.41 (1905)
Carl Frühling
Piano Quartet in D major, Op. 35
Robert Fuchs
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 15 (1876)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 75 (1904)
Vivian Fung
Shifting Landscapes (2018)

G-H#

Hans Gál
Piano Quartet in B major, Op.13 (1914)
Friedrich Gernsheim
Piano Quartet No. 1 in E major, Op. 6 (1865)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 20 (performed in 2003. Pub. ca. 1870.)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 47 (1883)
Ruth Gipps
Brocade, Op. 17 (1941)
Hermann Goetz
Piano quartet in E major Op. 6 (1867)
Reynaldo Hahn
Piano Quartet in G major
Ilmari Hannikainen
Piano Quartet in F-Sharp Minor
John Harbison
November 19, 1828 (1988)
Robert Helps
Piano Quartet (1997)
Louise Héritte-Viardot
Piano Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 9 (published in 1883)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in D major, Op. 11 (published in 1883)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in D minor (1877-1878)
Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Piano quartet No.1 in E minor, Op. 75 (1891-1892)
Piano quartet No. 2 in B major, Op. 95 (1897)
Alfred Hill
The Sacred Mountain (1932)
Wilhelm Hill
Piano Quartet in E major, Op. 44 (1879)
Ferdinand Hiller
Piano Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 1 (1826)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor, Op. 3 (1830)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op. 133 (1870)
Franz Anton Hoffmeister
Piano Quartet in G major (1785)
Piano Quartet in B-flat major (1788)
Herbert Howells
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 21 (1916-1st version, 1936-2nd version)
Hans Huber
Piano Quartet No.1 in B major, Op.110 (1891/2?)
Piano Quartet No.2 in E major, Op.117 (1901)
Ferdinand Hummel
Piano Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 19 (1879)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Piano Quartet in G major, Op. post. (2 movements; published in 1839)
William Hurlstone
Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 43 (1906)

I-L#

Salomon Jadassohn
Piano Quartet 1 in C minor, Op.77 (1884)
Piano Quartet 2 in G major, Op.86 (1887)
Piano Quartet 3 in A minor, Op. 109 (1890)
Marie Jaëll
Piano Quartet in G minor (1875)
Gustav Jenner
Piano Quartet in F major (1905)
Robert Kahn
Piano Quartet No. 1 in b minor, Op. 14 (1891)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in a minor, Op. 30 (1899)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in c minor, Op. 41 (1904)
Hannah Kendall
Network Bed (2018)
Friedrich Kiel
Piano Quartet No. 1 in a minor, Op. 43 (1866)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E major, Op. 44 (1866)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 50 (1867)
Uuno Klami (1900-1961)
Piano Quartet in D major
Arnold Krug
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 17 (1879)
Friedrich Kuhlau
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 32 (1820-1821)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 50 (1822)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in G minor, Op. 108 (composed in 1829, published in 1833)
Josef Labor
Piano Quartet in C major, Op.6 (1893)
Paul Lacombe
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 101 (1904)
Libby Larsen
Over, Easy (2009)
Anne Lauber
Piano Quartet (1989)
Luise Adolpha Le Beau
Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 28 (1883-1884)
Nicola Le Fanu
Miniature and Canon (2000)
Helvi Leiviskä
Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 1 (1926)
Guillaume Lekeu
Piano Quartet in B minor - (incomplete, first and second movement only; 1893)
Jeanne Leleu
Quatuor pour piano et cordes (1922)
Lowell Liebermann
Piano Quartet Op.114 (2010)
Helene Liebmann
Grand Quatuor pour Pianoforte, Violon, Viola et Violoncelle in A-flat major, Op. 13
Ruth Lomon
Shadowing for Piano Quartet (1993)
Running with the Wolves for Piano Quartet (1994)

M#

Alexander Mackenzie
Piano Quartet in E major, Op. 11 (1873)
Gustav Mahler
Piano Quartet in A minor (only 1st movement completed; 1876)
Otto Malling
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.80 (1904)
Joan Manén
Piano Quartet Op. A-6 “Mobilis in mobili” (1901)
Bevan Manson
Quartet for violin, viola, cello and piano (2007)
Tera de Marez Oyens
Dublin Quartet (1989)
Heinrich Marschner
Piano Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 36 (1827)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 158 (1853)
Bohuslav Martinů
Piano Quartet, H. 287 (1942)
Emilie Mayer
Piano Quartet in E-flat major
Piano Quartet in G major
Piano Quartet (2015)
Fanny Hensel
Piano Quartet in A-flat major, H-U No. 55 (1822)
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Quartet in D minor (1821)
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1822)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor, Op. 2 (1823)
Piano Quartet No. 3 in B minor, Op. 3 (1825)
Elena Mendoza
Nebelsplitter for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello (2007/2008)
Olivier Messiaen
Quatuor pour la fin du temps (for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano; 1941)
Darius Milhaud
Piano Quartet, Op. 417 (1966)
Bernhard Molique
Piano Quartet, Op. 71 in E-flat major (published 1870)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478 (1785)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 493 (1786)

N-R#

Eduard Nápravník
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op.42 (1882)
Zygmunt Noskowski
Piano Quartet in D minor, Op. 8 (premiered in 1879, published in 1881)
Vítězslav Novák
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.7 (1894, rev. 1899)
Cornélie van Oosterzee
Piano Quartet in C-sharp minor (c. 1890)
Henrique Oswald
Piano Quartet No. 1 (Piccolo quartetto) in F-sharp minor, Op. 5 (1888)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 26 (1898)
Hubert Parry
Piano Quartet in A-flat major (1882)
Dora Pejačević
Piano Quartet in D minor, Op. 25 (1908)
Walter Piston
Piano Quartet (1964)
Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major (published 1806)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor (published 1806)
Ebenezer Prout
Piano Quartet in C major, Op.2 (1865 ca.)
Piano Quartet No.2 in F major, Op.18 (1882?)
Osmo Tapio Räihälä
Les Oréades (2014)
Santa Ratniece
feu sur glace (2019)
Max Reger
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op.113 (1910)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op.133 (1914)
Carl Reinecke
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op.34 (1853)
Piano Quartet in D major, Op.272 (1904)
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger
Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 38 (1870)
Ferdinand Ries
Piano Quartet in F minor, Op.13 (1808)
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op.17 (1809)
Piano Quartet in E minor No.3, Op.129 (1820 or 1822?)
Amanda Röntgen-Maier
Piano Quartet in E minor (1891)
Anton Rubinstein
Piano Quartet in C major, Op. 66 (1864)

S#

Camille Saint-Saëns
Piano Quartet in E major, Op. post (1851–53)
Serenade in E-flat major, Op. 15 (for violin, viola (or cello), organ, and piano; 1865)
Piano Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 41 (1875)
Caprice sur des airs danois et russes, Op. 79 (for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano; 1887)
Barcarolle in F major, Op. 108 (for violin, cello, harmonium, and piano; 1898)
Quartet for pianoforte, violin, viola and violoncello in C major, Op.14 (1908?)
Quartet for 2 violins, viola and violoncello in G major, Op.17 (1905)
Alfred Schnittke
Piano Quartet, based on a fragment by Gustav Mahler (1988)
Franz Schubert
Adagio and Rondo concertante in F major, D487 (1816)
Georg Schumann
Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 29 (1901)
Robert Schumann
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47 (1842)
Cyril Scott
Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 16 (1899)
Johanna Senfter
Piano Quartet in E Minor, Op. 11
Piano Quartet in D Minor, Op. 112
Eric Sessler
Piano Quartet (2004)
Vache Sharafyan
“Adumbrations of the Peacock” for piano quartet (2003)
“Good-lights” four movements for piano quartet (2018)
Caroline Shaw
Thousandth Orange (2018)
Nikos Skalkottas
Scherzo for piano quartet (1939)
Alice Mary Smith
Piano Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major (1861)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E major
Piano Quartet No. 3 in D major (1864)
Piano Quartet No. 4 in G minor (1867)
Linda Catlin Smith
Dark Flower (2020)
Marcelle Soulage
Piano Quartet (1925)
Charles Villiers Stanford
Piano Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 15 (1879)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 133 (1914)
Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel
Piano Quartet in B-flat major, StWV 157 (ca. 1804)
Richard Stöhr
Piano Quartet in D minor, Op.63
Richard Strauss
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 13 (1884–1885)
Rita Strohl
Quatuor pour piano et cordes en ré mineur (1891)
Josef Suk
Piano Quartet in A min, Op.1 (1891)
Ananda Sukarlan
Variations on C. Simanjuntak’s “Tanah Tumpah Darahku” (2020)
Freda Swain
The Sea (1938)

T-Z#

Dobrinka Tabakova
Goldberg Gymnopedie (2011)
Josef Tal
Piano Quartet for violin, viola, cello & piano (1982)
Sergei Taneyev
Piano Quartet in E major, Op. 20 (1906)
Ferdinand Thieriot
Piano Quartet in E major, Op.30 (1875)
Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir
Shades of Silence (for violin, viola, cello & harpsichord; version for violin, viola, cello & piano also available; 2012)
Piano Quartet (2017)
Donald Tovey
Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 12 (1913)
Joan Tower
White Granite for Piano Quartet (2010)
Eduard Tubin
Piano Quartet in C-sharp minor, ETW 59 (1930)
Joaquín Turina
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67 (1931)
Stefania Turkewich
Piano Quartet
Gwyneth Van Anden Walker
Letters to the World (2001)
Earth and Sky for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano with Readers (2018)
Joelle Wallach
Runes and Ritual
William Walton
Piano Quartet in D minor
Johann Baptist Wanhal
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 40 No. 1
Piano Quartet in G major, Op. 40 No. 2
Piano Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 40 No. 3
Graham Waterhouse
Skylla and Charybdis (2014)
Vilma von Webenau
Piano Quartet in E minor
Carl Maria von Weber
Piano Quartet in B-flat major, J. 76 (1809)
Judith Weir
Piano Quartet (2000)
Charles-Marie Widor
Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 66 (1891)
John Williams
Air and Simple Gifts (2009)
John Woolrich
Adagissimo (1997)
Sestina (1997)
Georg Hendrik Witte
Piano Quartet in A major, Op. 5 (1867)
Władysław Żeleński
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 61 (1907)

List of ensembles#

Fauré Quartet
Domus Quartet
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Mariani Klavierquartett
Tunnell Piano Quartet
Copenhagen Piano Quartet
Bohuslav Martinů Piano Quartet
Bartholdy Piano Quartet
Menuhin Festival Piano Quartet
Berlin Piano Quartet
Ames Piano Quartet
Mozart Piano Quartet
Amara Piano Quartet
Frith Piano Quartet
Ax, Ma, Laredo & Stern

External links#

Piano Quartet Repertoire — A Comprehensive Listing of the piano quartet repertoire by major composers at the New Zealand Piano Quartet website
Ames Piano Quartet
Public Domain Piano Quartet Scores from IMSLP

Piano quintet

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The piano quintet before 1842#

While the related chamber music genres of the piano trio and piano quartet were established in the eighteenth century by Mozart and others, the piano quintet did not come into its own until the nineteenth century. Its roots extend into the late Classical period, when piano concertos were sometimes transcribed for piano with string quartet accompaniment. Although Luigi Boccherini composed quintets for piano and string quartet, before 1842 it was more common for the piano to be joined by violin, viola, cello and double bass. Among the best known quintets for this combination of instruments are Franz Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet in A major (1819) and Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Piano Quintet in E-flat minor, Op.87 (1802). Other piano quintets using this instrumentation were composed by Jan Ladislav Dussek (1799), Ferdinand Ries (1817), Johann Baptist Cramer (1825, 1832), Henri Jean Rigel (1826), Johann Peter Pixis (ca.1827), Franz Limmer (1832), Louise Farrenc (1839, 1840), and George Onslow (1846, 1848, 1849). Mozart (in 1784) and Ludwig van Beethoven (in 1796) each composed a quintet for piano and winds, scored for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, that are sometimes referred to as piano quintets.

Piano sextet

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Piano sonata

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The Baroque keyboard sonata#

In the Baroque era, the use of the term “sonata” generally referred to either the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) or sonata da camera (chamber sonata), both of which were sonatas for various instruments (usually one or more violins plus basso continuo). The keyboard sonata was relatively neglected by most composers. The sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (of which there are over 500) were the hallmark of the Baroque keyboard sonata, though they were, for the most part, unpublished during Scarlatti’s lifetime. The majority of these sonatas are in one-movement binary form, both sections being in the same tempo and utilizing the same thematic material. These sonatas are prized for both their technical difficulty and their musical and formal ingenuity. The influence of Spanish folk music is evident in Scarlatti’s sonatas. Other composers of Baroque keyboard sonatas (which were primarily written in two or three movements) include Marcello, Domenico Alberti, Giustini, Durante and Platti. J.S. Bach’s popular Italian Concerto, despite the name, can also be considered a keyboard sonata.

Piano symphony

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History#

An early piano symphony was written by Theodor Kullak and published in 1847. French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan composed one, which was published in 1857. José Vianna da Motta wrote of it, “Alkan demonstrates his brilliant understanding of symphonic form in the first movement of the Symphony (the fourth Study of his Op. 39 ). … The tonalities are so carefully calculated and developed that anyone listening to it can relate each note to an orchestral sound; and yet it is not just through the sonority that the orchestra is painted and becomes tangible, but equally through the style and the way that the polyphony is handled.” Several decades later, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji wrote his Third Piano Sonata (1922), which he described as a piano symphony. Between the years 1938–1976, Sorabji wrote 6 piano symphonies. Among these is also sometimes included his Piano Symphony No. 0 (1930–1931), which is the complete piano part of his otherwise unfinished 2nd Symphony for Orchestra. Niels Viggo Bentzon described his Partita for Piano, Op. 38 (1945), as a “symphony for solo piano”. The composer John White’s Piano Sonatina No. 8 (1961) consists of six movements, of which the fifth is called “Symphony in Five Movements”.

Piano trio

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Form#

Works titled “Piano Trio” tend to be in the same overall shape as a sonata. Initially this was in the three movement form, though some of Joseph Haydn’s have two movements. In five late works, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is generally credited with transforming the accompanied keyboard sonata, in which the essentially optional cello doubles the bass of the keyboard left hand, into the balanced trio which has since been a central form of chamber music. With the early 19th century, particularly Ludwig van Beethoven, this genre was felt to be more appropriate to cast in the four movement form. Piano trios that are set in the Sonata tradition share the general concerns of such works for their era, and often are reflective directly of symphonic practice with individual movements laid out according to the composer’s understanding of the sonata form. In the Classical era, home music-making made the piano trio a very popular genre for arrangements of other works. For example, Beethoven transcribed his first two symphonies for piano trio. Thus a large number of works exist for the arrangement of piano, violin and violoncello which are not generally titled or numbered as piano trios, but which are nonetheless part of the overall genre. These include single movements as well as sets of variations such as Beethoven’s Kakadu Variations Op. 121a and Variations in E flat major Op. 44. After the Classical era, works for piano and two instruments continue to be written which are not presented as in the sonata tradition, or are arrangements of other works. Many of these individual works are popular on concert programs, for example Joseph Suk’s Elegy.

Pibroch

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Etymology#

The Gaelic word literally means ‘piping’ or ‘act of piping’. The word is derived from (‘pipes’) via (‘piper’) plus the abstract forming suffix . In Gaelic, literally refers to any pipe music, not merely (literally: ‘big music’). Pibroch is a spelling variant first attested in Lowland Scots in 1719. Bagpipe societies, such as the Glasgow-based Piobaireachd Society, have commonly employed the term as a synonym for played on the Great Highland Bagpipes. The term or pibroch is also historically employed to describe -related repertoire played on instruments other than bagpipes, particularly the Scottish fiddle.

Piedmont blues

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Origins#

The basis of the Piedmont style began with the older “frailing” or “framming” guitar styles that may have been universal throughout the South, and was also based, at least to some extent, on formal “parlor guitar” techniques as well as earlier banjo playing, string band, and ragtime. What was particular to the Piedmont was that a generation of players adapted these older, ragtime-based techniques to blues in a singular and popular fashion, influenced by guitarists such as Blind Blake and Gary Davis.

Pimba

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History#

The genre began to have a greater popularity in the 1980s and reached its apogee in the 1990s. Pimba bands and musicians or singers are influenced by the rural areas of the Portuguese countryside and the economic emigration phenomenon which was common place in Portuguese life and the society throughout the 20th century. The Pimba genre is characterized by humorous lyrics, usually charged with sexual metaphors (like Rosinha’s, Quim Barreiros’ and Toy’s songs), but it can also be used to refer to singers of overly sentimental lyrics (such as Marco Paulo, Tony Carreira, Dino Meira, Mónica Sintra and Ágata) who play in local festivities across the country, usually during the Summer season, where the overly vulgar or saucy music performances were also displayed. At the onset and for many years, Pimba music and musicians or bands were object of negative criticism by some music erudites and cultural authorities, although being often much more popular and profitable across Portugal and the Portuguese expat communities abroad than other more reputable genres. The origins of Pimba as a genre are hard to define with precision, but Portuguese singer Emanuel’s 1995 single called Pimba Pimba is regarded as a milestone in the genre’s popularity explosion even after Quim Barreiros’ 1991 and 1992 songs Bacalhau à Portuguesa (O Bacalhau Quer Alho) and O Sorveteiro (Chupa Teresa) have reached such a huge success that the genre started to be widely sought-after and appreciated nationwide by then, although still just known as Portuguese folk (or popular) music instead of Pimba music. The single Pimba Pimba eventually gave its name to this music genre. Always present in local festivities and holidays of villages and towns across the entire country, that are often connected with religious holidays in honor of a patron saint of a local community, almost always in the Summer, Pimba singers also became a must in several major university and college festivals or festivities, such as the Queima das Fitas. Other names who were highly successful throughout the glory days of the genre include Ana Malhoa and her father José Malhoa, the band Diapasão, Iran Costa, Fernando Correia Marques, Ruth Marlene, Micaela, Romana and Nel Monteiro. Actress Maria João Bastos character Liliane Marise, a pimba music singer in the Portuguese telenovela Destinos Cruzados (2013/14), was so remarkable that the actress, impersonating the character, released a CD that reached first place in the Portuguese album chart and performed in Lisbon’s MEO Arena in October 2013, and also in Guimarães on 2 November 2013. In 1998 and 1999, the pimba music scene, at its most mediatic point, was parodied in RTP’s sitcom Débora, starred by Ana Bola.

Pinoy hip-hop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1980s#

Hip hop reached urban communities in and around Manila during the early 1980s through film, recordings, visiting DJs, and cultural exchange with U.S. bases at Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base. Local crews and mobile sound systems adopted breaking, DJ mixing, and rapping, and early commercial recordings and television exposure followed later in the decade. In 1980, Dyords Javier issued “Na Onseng Delight”, a parody of “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. That same year, Vincent Daffalong released singles including “Ispraken-Delight” and “Mahiwagang Nunal”. Early breaking crews included Whooze Co. International, The Eclipse, Info-Clash Breakers, and Ground Control, and performers such as Jay “Smooth” MC of Bass Rhyme Posse; mobile DJ crews such as Rock All Parties Crew produced future Pinoy rap figures including Andrew E. and Norman B.

Pinoy jazz

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Filipinos in America#

In the early 20th century, many Filipinos were migrating to the United States, specifically the West Coast, for musical labor. Filipino musicians were widely connected to the colonial project. Some performed as part of the Philippine Constabulary Band for American expositions, led by Walter H. Loving, an African American soldier and conductor. They played mostly Western military and classical music or tunes, but it proved their musical skills to the Americans. Scholar Mary Talusan argued that American audiences did not appreciate it for the artistry or hard work of Filipinos, but rather because they were gaining success in assimilation and U.S. tutelage through their attempts of colonizing the Philippines. In fact, Filipinos have been well influenced by Westernization for centuries, as they were colonized by the Spanish and had developed their own style for bands. Filipino musicians and laborers also became frequents in taxi-dance halls, where patrons would pay for dances with American jazz and swing music. Though these became sites of intense racial conflict, it gave working-class Filipinos to engage with jazz culture. Through the 1940-50s, Filipinos soon gained active recognition in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, or the “Harlem of the West,” as stated by Carlos Zialcita, a prominent figure in the San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival. Notable Filipino musicians like Flip Nuñez (pianist) and Vince Gomez (bassist) performed alongside African American musicians in the neighborhood.

Pinoy pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

In the early 1970s, Pinoy music or Pinoy pop emerged, often sung in Tagalog. It was a mix of rock, folk and ballads making political use of music similar to early hip hop but transcending class. The music was a “conscious attempt to create a Filipino national and popular culture” and it often reflected social realities and problems. “Pinoy” gained popular currency in the late 1970s in the Philippines when a surge in patriotism made a hit song of Filipino folk singer Heber Bartolome’s “Tayo’y mga Pinoy” (“We are Pinoys”). This trend was followed by Filipino rapper Francis Magalona’s “Mga Kababayan Ko” (“My Countrymen”) in the 1990s and Filipino rock band Bamboo’s “Noypi” (“Pinoy” in reversed syllables) in the 2000s. Nowadays, Pinoy is used as an adjective to some terms highlighting their relationship to the Philippines or Filipinos. Pinoy rock was soon followed by Pinoy folk and later, Pinoy jazz. Although the music was often used to express opposition to then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and his use of martial law and the creating of the Batasang Bayan, many of the songs were more subversive and some just instilled national pride. Perhaps because of the cultural affirming nature and many of the songs seemingly being non-threatening, the Marcos administration ordered radio stations to play at least one – and later, three – Pinoy songs each hour. Pinoy music was greatly employed both by Marcos and political forces who sought to overthrow him.

Pinoy reggae

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Jamaican reggae was introduced to the Philippines in the late 1960s; however the first recognized Filipino reggae bands didn’t appear until the late 1970s. Cocojam is known as one of the first Filipino reggae bands. Ska also found its place in the Philippines, with many bands forming, especially in the Visayas region. Cities like Dumaguete and Cebu became the hub of Filipino ska. Dub music also found its place within the islands, with bands like Junior Kilat popularizing the genre with songs like “Sigbin”. Local folklore, tales and traditions were a noticeable influence on songs. The subgenre dancehall was popularized in Cebu by Coolie Dread and the Microphone Commanders. Bands like Badjao Roots and Tropical Depression displayed cultural awareness by using traditional instruments in their songs. With the commercial success of groups like Brownman Revival and Tropical Depression, the Filipino reggae scene has seen more popularity, to the point that more reggae festivals are being introduced and expanded around the country.

Pinoy rock

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1960s: Early years#

In the early 1960s, electric guitars, drum sets, amplifiers, and echo machines became more available. Filipino instrumental bands popularly called “combos” formed all over the country. They emulated American and British bands like the Fireballs, the Ventures, the Gamblers, and the Shadows. Ramon Jacinto (RJ) and his band the Riots were considered the Ventures of the Philippines. The arrival of the Beatles in 1966 signaled the end of instrumental music as a genre. Influenced by the British Invasion of which the Beatles were a part of, many Filipino bands began adopting similar musical styles. The Dynasonics (later known as the Dynasouls, and also known as the “Pinoy Beatles”) were the premier Beatles band in the country. Other popular combos of the era were D’Swooners (featuring Edmond Fortuno, future drummer for Juan de la Cruz Band and Anak Bayan), D’Downbeats (featuring Pepe Smith, future drummer / lead vocalist for Speed, Glue & Shinki and Juan de la Cruz Band), who were the top billed opening act for The Beatles concert on July 4, 1966, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, the Hi-Jacks (featuring Eddie Mesa, “The Filipino Elvis”), the Bits N’ Pieces, the Boots ’n’ Saddles, the Moonstrucks, Tilt Down Men and hundreds of others. Only a few years earlier, teens formed informal groups using instruments like ukuleles, guitars, and gas cans with a single rope for a stand-up bass and often without amplification. It was similar to the British with their skiffle music, except that Pinoys sang Elvis’s songs, not railroad songs. One of the first popular Filipino rockers was Bobby Gonzales, had a hit called “Hahabol-Habol”. Eddie Mesa, another teen idol from the period, became known as the “Elvis Presley of the Philippines”. As in the 1960s, many Filipinos referred then to rock bands as “combos”. Many of these used nontraditional instruments like floor-bass bongos, maracas, and gas tanks. Easy listening was the popular genre for much of the decade which saw the popularity of Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, and Pat Boone, among others. Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, and Neil Sedaka became teen favorites in the last years of the 1950s. Rock as Filipinos know it did not really attract teenage Filipinos attention until the Ventures and the Shadows came along.

Pinpeat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

According to Chuon Nath’s Khmer dictionary, the ‘Pinpeat’ is composed of the Sanskrit terms vina/ pin () referring to the pin (harp), which was formerly used as the premiere instrument in this ensemble, and vadya/ padya/ peat () referring to an ensemble of instruments. According to Sonankavei, the professor from the Department of Music of the Cambodian Royal University of Fine Art, the word pinpeat is derived from the combination of two musical instruments including pin (harp) and vadya/ peat, referring to a genre of kong called kongpeat. The Laotian adoption of Khmer pinpeat is called pinphat. The term piphat was also used among Cambodians familiar with the Thai language; this can be attributed to the former annexation of the northern provinces of Cambodia, however, Pinpeat in fact originated from Cambodia.

Piphat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Types of piphat#

The smallest piphat, called piphat khrueang ha, is composed of six instruments: pi nai (oboe); ranat ek (xylophone); khong wong yai (gong circle); taphon or other Thai drums; glong thad, a set of two large barrel drums beaten with sticks; and ching (small cymbals). Often other small percussion instruments such as krap or chap are used. A slightly larger piphat ensemble is called piphat khrueang khu, and consists of eight musical instruments. The other two instruments are the ranat thum (xylophone), which produces a deeper sound than the ranat ek, and khong wong lek, a gong circle that is higher in pitch than the khong wong yai. The largest form of piphat ensemble is the piphat khrueang yai, which consists of ten musical instruments. Another ones are ranat ek lek and ranat thum lek; these are almost the same as their ancestors, the ranat ek and ranat thum, but they have keys made from metal instead of wood.

Pirate metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins and early history#

The earliest example of pirate metal most likely appeared when Australian heavy metal band Black Jack released their 1979 and 1983 demos, and their later 1985 vinyl EP, Five Pieces O’ Eight. Their pirate themes, lyrics, stage shows and imagery were a precursor to later, more mainstream pirate metal. Black Jack’s stage show featured costumes, sets, props and mock hangings. Additionally, on their 1984 album, Walpurgis Night, German band Stormwitch included a song titled “Skull and Crossbones.” Pirate metal was more widely established and popularized by German heavy metal band Running Wild. They released their third album, Under Jolly Roger in 1987, and according to Rolf Kasparek, lead singer and guitarist for the band, the album’s pirate theme was not planned. Instead, it grew from the album’s title song. Eventually, the album’s artwork was changed to match the title, and set decorations and costumes for future concerts were designed. The piratical lyrics also became a way to convey the band’s political message, since their use of the devil as a symbolic figure was being misunderstood on their first album Gates to Purgatory. Kasparek began reading about pirates and, after finding “everything very interesting”, he incorporated the motifs into their music. The subject matter was expanded during rehearsals for the fourth release, Port Royal, and their trademark style was solidified. Although Kasparek was more interested in the true histories of the Golden Age of Piracy, pirate metal would eventually be inspired, to a greater extent, by the inaccuracies as invented or portrayed in novels and Hollywood films. Another band that adopted a pirate motif before the official coining of “Pirate Metal” is Detritus from the UK. They were founded in 1989. Their music combines thrash metal, Christian metal and pirate motifs They continue to release music, with their most recent album coming out in 2020. Visions of Atlantis, an Austrian symphonic metal band, was founded in 2000. Their original concept was focused around the mythical lost city of Atlantis and adventuring on the sea in general, but their more recent work is directly about pirates. In 2019 the symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis released the album Wanderers, which touched on some nautical and piratical themes. With the release of their next album, Pirates, in 2022 they had embraced the pirate theme changing into a mix of symphonic power metal to more power pirate metal. This trend would continue with their latest album, Pirates II – Armada, released on July 5, 2024.

Pirekua

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

External links#

*Media services: “Pirekua, traditional song of the P’urhépecha”, UNESCO.org.

Pisadinha

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Piseiro#

Piseiro is a variation of pisadinha that emerged in the state of Bahia, derived from forró. According to Folha de S.Paulo, piseiro can be described as “a descendant of forró with aesthetic objectives aligned with current funk”. The piseiro has traces of the pisodinha, presenting a choreography marked by shuffling steps and hands positioned close to the body. This derivation of traditional forró has faster beats, offering a solo dance. The name “piseiro” derives from the name of the place where the pisodinha is danced. Some of the names considered responsible for the piseiro’s success are Os Barões da Pisadinha and Vitor Fernandes.

Piyyut

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Eretz Yisrael school#

The earliest piyyuṭim date from classical antiquity but date as late as the Middle Ages: from the Talmudic () and Geonic periods (). They were “overwhelmingly from the Land of Israel or its neighbor Syria, because only there was the Hebrew language sufficiently cultivated that it could be managed with stylistic correctness, and only there could it be made to speak so expressively.” The earliest Jewish prayer manuscripts, which were found in the Cairo Geniza, often consist of piyyuṭim, as these were the parts of the liturgy that required to be written down: the wording of the basic prayers was generally known by heart, and there was supposed to be a prohibition of writing them down. It is not always clear from the manuscripts whether these piyyuṭim, which often elaborated the themes of the basic prayers, were intended to supplement or replace them or, indeed, whether they originated before the basic prayers had become fixed. The piyyuṭim, in particular those of Eleazar birabbi Qallir, were often in very cryptic and allusive language, with copious reference to midrash. Initially, the word piyyuṭ designated every type of sacred poetry, but as usage developed, the term came to designate only poems of hymn character around the fourth or fifth centuries CE. The piyyuṭim were usually composed by a talented rabbinic poet, and depending on the piyyuṭ’s reception by the community determined whether it would pass the test of time. Looking at the composers of the piyyuṭim, one can see which family names were part of the Middle Eastern community and which hakhamim were prominent and well established. The composers of various piyyuṭim usually used acrostic forms to hint their identity in the piyyuṭ itself. Since siddurim were limited then, many piyyuṭim had repeating stanzas that the congregation would respond to, followed by the hazzan’s recitations. The additions of piyyuṭim to the services were primarily used to embellish them and make them more enjoyable to the congregation. As to the origin of the piyyuṭ’s implementation, there is a theory that this had to do with restrictions on Jewish prayer. Al-Samawal al-Maghribi, a Jewish convert to Islam in the twelfth century, wrote that the Persians prohibited Jews from holding prayer services. “When the Jews saw that the Persians persisted in obstructing their prayer, they invented invocations into which they admixed passages from their prayers (the piyyuṭ) … and set numerous tunes to them”. They would assemble to read and chant the piyyuṭim at prayer time. The difference between that and prayer is that the prayer is without melody and is read only by the person conducting the service. In the recitation of the piyyuṭ, the cantor is assisted by the congregation in chanting melodies. “When the Persians rebuked them for this, the Jews sometimes asserted that they were singing, and sometimes mourning over their situations .” When the Muslims took over and allowed Jews dhimmi status, prayer became permissible for the Jews. The piyyuṭ had become a commendable tradition for holidays and other joyous occasions. The use of piyyuṭ was always considered a Jewish specialty in Palestine: the Babylonian geonim made every effort to discourage it and restore what they regarded as the statutory wording of the prayers, holding that “any hazzan who uses piyyuṭ thereby gives evidence that he is no scholar”. It is not always clear whether their main objection was to any use of piyyuṭim at all or only to their intruding into the heart of the statutory prayers. For these reasons, scholars classifying the liturgies of later periods usually hold that the more a given liturgy uses piyyuṭim, the more likely it is to reflect Land of Israel influence as opposed to Babylonian (Lower Mesopotamian) influence. Sephardic liturgical framers took Geonic strictures seriously. For this reason, the early Jewish piyyuṭim, such as those of Yannai and Eleazar birabbi Qallir, do not survive in the Sephardic rite. However, they do in the Ashkenazi and Italian rites.

Pizmonim

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Geographical background#

Pizmonim are traditionally associated with Sephardi Jews, although they are related to Ashkenazi Jews’ zemirot. The best known tradition is associated with Jews descended from Aleppo, though similar traditions exist among Iraqi Jews (where the songs are known as shbaḥoth, praises) and in North African countries. Jews of Greek, Turkish and Balkan origin have songs of the same kind in Ladino, associated with the festivals: these are known as coplas.

Pizzica

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dancing the pizzica#

The traditional pizzica is a couple dance. The couple need not necessarily involve two individuals of opposite sexes, and often two women can be seen dancing together. Nowadays it has become rare to see two men dancing an entire pizzica. An exception with a pizzica between two men can still be found in the town of Ostuni, where one of the two men who dance jokingly pretends to be a woman. Another exception is where two men pretend to be engaged in a duel. The most important book about pizzica and tarantism is The Land of Remorse, written by the Italian philosopher, anthropologist, and historian of religions Ernesto de Martino. There are several traditional pizzica groups, the oldest being Officina Zoé, Uccio Aloisi gruppu, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, and I Tamburellisti di Torrepaduli. Since 1998 there has been a summer Notte della Taranta (‘Taranta Night’), consisting of a whole night where many famous musicians alternate their performances with pizzica orchestras. Some of them include Stewart Copeland, Franco Battiato, Gianna Nannini, Raiz, Lucio Dalla, and Carmen Consoli. The 11th Festival was held in Lecce in August 2008.

PI on Music Theory Print

Piano concerto

History#

Piano duet

See also#

Piano piece

Piano quartet

List of works#

A-B#

C-D#

E-F#

G-H#

I-L#

M#

N-R#

S#

T-Z#

List of ensembles#

See also#

Further reading#

External links#

Piano quintet

The piano quintet before 1842#

Piano sextet

Piano sonata

The Baroque keyboard sonata#

Piano symphony

History#

Piano trio

Form#

Pibroch

Etymology#

Piedmont blues

Origins#

Pimba

History#

Pinoy hip-hop

1980s#

Pinoy jazz

Filipinos in America#

Pinoy pop

Etymology#

Pinoy reggae

History#

Pinoy rock

1960s: Early years#

Pinpeat

Etymology#

Piphat

Types of piphat#

Pirate metal

Origins and early history#

Pirekua

See also#

External links#

Pisadinha

Piseiro#

Piyyut

The Eretz Yisrael school#

Pizmonim

Geographical background#

Pizzica

Dancing the pizzica#