Schumann's concerto genre, for some reason, appears in four-year cycles. Four years after the great success of his Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, in 1849, Schumann was once again engaged with the concerto genre. In February, he completed the Konzertstück for Four Horns, Op. 86, a work with an unusual instrumentation. In the autumn of the same year, he then embarked on a small concerto for piano solo and orchestra, the Introduction and Allegro Appassionato in G major. It was sketched from September 18-20 and composed in the short period from September 21-26. (Four years after this Op. 92, Schumann would again complete a work in this genre, the Introduction and Concert Allegro, Op. 134.)

The premiere took place on February 14, 1850, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, with his wife Clara Schumann (1819-1896) as piano soloist and Julius Rietz (1812-1877) conducting. The audience's reaction was not favorable, and local music magazine reviews, while praising Clara's performance, were generally critical of the work itself. (Rietz had been appointed conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and a faculty member in composition at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1848, following the death of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). Less than two weeks before the Op. 92 premiere, he had successfully premiered Schumann's Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 80, as a cellist.) At a re-performance in Düsseldorf on March 13, 1851, Schumann himself conducted, receiving a much better reception compared to the premiere.

The first edition, comprising the piano score and orchestral parts, was published in February 1852 by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig. The full score was released nearly 20 years later, in December 1873.

The instrumentation is as follows:

• Solo piano
• 2 flutes
• 2 oboes
• 2 clarinets
• 2 bassoons
• 2 horns
• 2 trumpets
• Timpani
• Strings (5 parts)

Introduction

Slowly, G major, 4/4 time. Over a dominant pedal in the cellos and piano arpeggios, a lyrical melody begins to sing in the clarinet solo. Other instruments gradually join in, creating a poetic world of rich timbres. The concluding section features the piano playing a phrase consisting of dotted rhythmic figures, closing with a significant A minor chord.

Main Part

Allegro, 2/2 time, in sonata form. The dotted theme of the exposition, signaled by a triplet anacrusis, is in E minor, with the orchestra tutti and solo piano engaging in alternating dialogue. The distinctive melodic second theme is also in E minor, first appearing in the low register of the solo piano's left hand, then in the right hand. A third theme then emerges with C major arpeggios in the solo piano. This is followed by a two-part development section and a recapitulation.