Glazunov's Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 92, is structured into only two outer movements, the second of which is a fusion of a slow movement and a scherzo in variation form. Glazunov composed this work in 1911 while serving as director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
Despite its role as a solo concerto, the F minor Concerto clearly exhibits symphonic characteristics. The first movement (Allegro moderato) begins with a thematic introduction that recurs throughout the movement and serves as a structural guide. Characteristic of the opening is a chromatically rich, dotted-rhythm figure on the leading tone, which initially avoids a clear affirmation of the tonic.
The soloist enters after just ten bars, takes up this motivic motif, and finally cadences to the tonic F minor. Following this, over expansive arpeggios in the left hand, the soloist presents a cantabile main theme of a melancholic and wistful character. Through rapid modulations and rhythmic diminutions, the thematic development leads to an initial climax, which eventually subsides and leads into the secondary theme.
A second piano concerto in B-flat major followed in 1917 as Opus 100. The unusual structure of the first concerto, with its omission of a middle movement and the long set of variations as a finale, is atypical for the piano concerto genre.