Composer Bela Bartok was battling with the final stages of leukemia when he struggled to complete his Piano Concerto No. 3, a gift for his wife. He completed all but the orchestration of the last 17 bars.
The first movement is characterized by serenity and near weightlessness: the piano weaves its melodic threads over a transparent orchestral texture.
The music of the slow movement draws on a wealth of human feelings contrasted with an evocation of themes from nature.
The finale, a rondo with a theme built on a short-long, long-short rhythm, is the most contrapuntal movement, containing fugal and imitative writing in both piano and orchestra.
Here is Ms. Grimaud to perform this music for you:
