Here's my rendition of Boise's concerto:
It's supposedly the first ever written by an American-born composer, but I still suspect that it's likely there's earlier ones, but maybe only if you count people born in the colonies before Independence? For sure there must be some earlier ones written in the US by European immigrants. It shouldn't have taken almost a century for someone to give it a go...
The French-American composer Frédéric-Louis Ritter (1834-1891) wrote a piano concerto in B minor at some point, and the material for it, along with many other manuscripts of his, is/are at Vassar. When it's from, where he was when he wrote it, its quality, etc., I have no idea...
Is that downloadable? If so I'd appreciate a link, I might take a look at it. Otherwise, I might have a contact in NY who could get scans.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Saturday 31 January 2026, 04:17The French-American composer Frédéric-Louis Ritter (1834-1891) wrote a piano concerto in B minor at some point, and the material for it, along with many other manuscripts of his, is/are at Vassar. When it's from, where he was when he wrote it, its quality, etc., I have no idea...
I just did a 1 min+ sample of this concerto, the manuscript is undated so I don't have idea when it was written, judging by the style of writing, I feel it was more daring than the Boise. Sorry I cannot provide a sample beyond this time limit.
Thank you! I have been curious about his music beyond what's been available from LoC... Reminds me a little bit of Martucci 2.
Returning to Boise's Piano Concerto, I found this a most enjoyable work, very mid-19th century romantic in idiom and, at least in terms of ambition, if not quite achievement, reminiscent of the Grieg Concerto. It's rather let down by its finale, the material of which doesn't have the memorability of the first two movements, so it's all a tad pedestrian, but many thanks to Darrel for bringing to life this concerto, which I've long wanted to hear.