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In recent semesters you have spent time studying both the Dv…

In recent semesters you have spent time studying both the Dvorak piano concerto and the Saint-Saens second concerto – both from the same stylistic era, both even in the same key.  And yet one of them remains quite obscure while the other is ubiquitous.  Please write an essay that describes the reception history of these two works, how they fit into the overall history of the concerto, and something about their stylistic similarities and differences.  Bearing in mind the quote from Leslie Howard, who said that there is nothing Liszt ever wrote as difficult as the Dvorak, “one of the most ungainly bits of piano writing ever printed,”  discuss the technical challenges of the Dvorak (which no doubt have some bearing on the piece’s obscurity), and maybe compare them with the (undoubtedly more idiomatic) virtuoso demands of the Saint-Saens. By all means you should make note of the articles and books you read while researching this topic, though I do not expect you to have the precise bibliographic details memorized.