Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra, S. 88

Some years ago, just as the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (as it was then called) were about to begin playing one of the Brahms piano concertos, the conductor, Leonard Bernstein, turned around to the audience and publicly disassociated himself from the interpretation that was to follow. This inherent animosity between the conductor, representing the orchestra (i.e. the masses, the proletariat), and the soloists, representing only himself (i.e. the elite, one of the bosses), although well known to every musician, is usually kept below the surface, out of the audience?s earsight. We have already seen, however, that one of the most thought-provoking, or at least provoking, characteristics of P.D.Q. Bach?s music is the almost twentieth-century way in which he expressly sets out to express the real realities that lie beyond the conventions of convention, and the Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra is an exemplary example of this. During a recent performance, in fact, the contention between the two opposing forces manifested itself so physically that the house manager was forced to call the concerto on account of a cut above the conductor?s left eye. There was one occasion, on the other hand, when the work produced exactly the opposite effect: at is premiere performance in Wein-am-Rhein on the 1st of March 1807, the conductor and the pianist and the concertmaster, in an almost unheard-of display of unity, turned to the audience and disassociated themselves from the concerto itself.