Saint-Saens Piano Concerto 2, Op 22, 3rd Mov (Blechacz)

The third and final movement of Saint-Saëns' piano concerto in G minor is marked "Presto" and is a fiery tarantella in sonata form.
The movement opens with an agitated exposition, in which a restless, winding triplet figure is integral to most of the movement’s many themes– first as a tempestuous introduction (00:00), then as accompaniment (00:06), then as transitory material and finally the third theme (00:37).
Yet, Saint-Saëns chooses to focus the majority of the development on the trill theme (00:55), leading to a unique, almost bizarre section in which he strings together 64 trills in less than a minute (02:05 to 03:03). Passages like this is why I do not agree with the labelling of this concerto as a mere virtuoso showpiece – a pianist of Saint-Saëns’ calibre would have certainly found more effective ways of dazzling his audience than “squandering” such a big part of the development on some trills.
In the coda, the first two notes of the trill theme are turned into mighty introductory chords, after which a delightful finale ensues.

Full concerto playlist:    • Saint-Saens - Piano Concerto 2, Op  22, 1s...  

In my opinion, Rafal Blechacz’ rendition here is almost the most energetic and dramatic version of this movement. It is outclassed only by Stephen Hough’s stellar interpretation – a recording that I own but sadly cannot upload due to copyright takedowns.