1900-1949 Cello Concerto Flashcards
Name 6 cello concertos ca.1900-1949.
- Camille Saint-Saëns: Concerto No.2 in d for cello and orchestra (1902)
- Ernest Bloch: Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hebraïque for cello and orchestra (1916)
- Edward Elgar: Concerto in e for cello and orchestra, Op.85 (1918–1919)
- Paul Hindemith: Cello Concerto in G (1940)
- Samuel Barber: Concerto in a for cello and orchestra (1945)
- Dmitri Kabalevsky: Concerto No.1 in g for cello and orchestra (1949)
Piece: cello concerto by Saint-Saëns, 2.
Camille Saint-Saëns: Concerto No.2 in d for cello and orchestra (1902)
- It was composed for a Dutch cellist, Joseph Hollmann
- The Second Concerto is much more virtuosic than the First, but does not possess the thematic inventiveness and harmonic intricacy of the First.
- In many respects, it’s a finer creation than its famous predecessor in A minor Op. 33; larger in overall concept and arguably of greater thematic nobility, the concerto remains largely unknown.
- the music divides into two “movements” or parts (the second temporally half as long as the first), each separating again to give four sections in all. In the Liszt tradition, the whole is cyclically linked, with the finale (following a cadenza) taking the form largely of a recapitulation of the first thematic group of the opening section.
- The first movement is in sonata form. Ends with a scale in artificial harmonics, like the scale in the First Cello Concerto.
- The second movement is a prayer, in E-flat major, in simple ternary form. A moto perpetuo in G minor. It ends abruptly in a cadenza, followed by a major-key recapitulation of the first movement, and a coda.
- In a letter to Faure, Saint-Saens predicted the unpopularity of his second cello concerto: “it will never be as known as the first, it is too difficult.”
Piece: cello concerto by Bloch.
Ernest Bloch: Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hebraïque for cello and orchestra (1916)
- The final work of Bloch’s “Jewish Cycle.”
- This was Bloch’s way of expressing his personal conception and interpretation of what he thought Jewish music should be, since the Jewish nation did not exist, in the strictest sense, at the time these biblically-inspired works were written.
- A serendipitous meeting occurred between Bloch and cellist Alexandre Barjansky, who impressed Bloch with his mastery of the instrument, which had the brooding vocal quality that he envisioned for Schelomo. The word Schelomo, being the Hebrew form of Solomon, uses the violoncello to represent the voice of King Solomon. While Bloch did search for inspiration from the Bible for this composition, it was instead a wax statuette of King Solomon, created by Katherina Barjansky, wife of Bloch’s friend, cellist Alexandre Barjansky, to whom the work was dedicated.
- the orchestra represents the world around King Solomon, as well as his experiences in life. In addition, he also states that sometimes the orchestra reflects the thoughts of Solomon while the solo cello expresses his words.
- Schelomo is divided into three sections, with each section separated by the use of different textures and themes in cyclic form
Piece: cello concerto by Elgar.
Edward Elgar: Concerto in e for cello and orchestra, Op.85 (1918–1919)
- Premiered by Felix Salmond.
The first performance was a debacle because Elgar and the performers had been deprived of adequate rehearsal time.
- The first movement is in ternary form with an introduction.
- The second movement opens with a fast crescendo with pizzicato chords in the cello. Then, the solo cello plays what will be the main motive of the Allegro molto section. Pizzicato chords follow. A brief cadenza is played, and sixteenth-note motive and chords follow. A ritardando leads directly to a scherzo-like section which remains until the end.
- The slow third movement starts and ends with a lyrical melody, and one theme runs through the entire movement. The end flows directly into the finale (again with no pause).
- The movement’s main theme is noble and stately, but with undertones and with many key-changes. Near the end of the piece, the tempo slows into a più lento section, in which a new set of themes appears. The tempo slows further, to the tempo of the third movement, and the theme from that movement is restated.
- at the very end of the piece, the recitative of the first movement is played again. This flows into a reiteration of the main theme of the fourth movement
- Elgar made two recordings of the work with Beatrice Harrison as soloist.
- The work did not achieve wide popularity until the 1960s, when a recording by Jacqueline du Pré caught the public imagination and became a classical best-seller.
Piece: cello concerto by Hindemith.
Paul Hindemith: Cello Concerto in G (1940)
- 1940 was a time when Hindemith was finally persuaded to leave war-torn Europe and teach in the United States
- neoclassicism, an aesthetic which Hindemith shared with many of the major composers of the twenties, including Bartok, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky.
- The fingerprints of neo-classicism are still there; the busy imitative textures, the fondness for learned devices such as invertible counterpoint, the clear formal patterns. What is new is a sense of long-range harmonic movement that allows the music room to breathe.
- The cello concerto is extroverted and untroubled. It was written for Gregor Piatigorsky and the Boston Symphony, who gave the premiere.
- The opening is a dramatic call to attention, followed by an expansive and lyrical theme for the cello. Almost immediately, these two apparently irreconcilable elements are combined, and the rest of the movement is built form the dialogue that ensues.
- This idea is even more overtly expressed in the second movement, which into three parts; the first is a gentle theme (later used by William Walton for a set of variations), the second a brilliant and quick scherzo, and the third part is a combination of these two, ‘layered’ in two distinct speeds in a way that recalls Berlioz.
- The finale, a boisterous march, is notable for its brilliantly orchestrated middle section, and it brings the concerto to a rousing conclusion.
- the calculated force of the opening, with its cunning sequence of perfectiones, triplets in sixteenths, eighths, and quarters; the calm central movement, marked ruhig bewegt, in which parts A and B overlap telescopically at the end; and the witty march, which only Paul Hindemith could have written like that - they would already be documents of amazing skill on their own. But they are, at the same time, demanding and extremely rewarding gifts for the soloist, the orchestra, and the audience: expressive to the point of abandon, capricious and humorous, cheeky and playful, a concert piece with all the virtues the genre holds in store
Piece: cello concerto by Barber.
Samuel Barber: Concerto in a for cello and orchestra (1945)
- The second of his three concertos (the first being his Violin Concerto and the third his Piano Concerto).
Barber was commissioned to write his cello concerto for Raya Garbousova, an expatriate Russian cellist. While composing, Barber asked Garbousova to play her entire repertoire for him so that he could understand her performing style.
- The work has gradually crept into the repertoire of the cello community, but it has remained on the fringes, largely because of its extreme technical demands.
- The opening movement, Allegro moderato, begins with an abrupt gesture on strings. An understated melodic complex, rather than a theme as such, now unfolds across the orchestra and the soloist joins in almost matter-of-factly. Only belatedly is the theme stated as a coherent entity.
- a lengthy cadenza, subjecting the theme’s constituent elements to the full panoply of cello techniques.
- The central movement, Andante sostenuto, opens with a plaintive siciliana melody on the oboe, subtly derived from that of the first movement and intertwined with the soloist’s barcarolle-like motion.
- The finale, Molto allegro e appassionato, opens with another abrupt tutti gesture, before the soloist leads the way with a vaunting melody, inviting vigorous repartee with the orchestra. A short solo passage leads to an atmospheric episode, lightly scored in the orchestra’s upper reaches and featuring cello harmonics. A further brief cadenza.
Piece: cello concerto by Kabalevsky.
Dmitri Kabalevsky: Concerto No.1 in g for cello and orchestra (1949)
- Kabalevsky wrote his Cello Concerto in G minor, Opus 49, in the years 1948 and 1949, one of a group of such concertos in these years that was designed for young performers. He dedicated the work to the cellist Svyatoslav Knushevitsky.
- The opening Allegro starts with a brief plucked string introduction, before the entry of the soloist, whose theme is echoed by the clarinet. There is a fiercely energetic cadenza.
- The B major slow movement starts with the repeated rhythms of muted string chords, over which the soloist emerges to contradict the major mode that the orchestra has proposed. There is a cadenza, before the hushed ending of the movement.
- After this the clarinet provides a link to the solo entry that follows shortly after in the last movement. The very Russian melodic material is introduced by the soloist and there is a later more lyrical melody, a chance for an element of virtuoso display, a brief cadenza and a triumphantly optimistic conclusion.
Who was Joseph Hollman?
Joseph Hollman (1852-1927)
- Pupil of Karl Davydov and Adrien-François Servais.
- Premiered and received the dedication to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Concerto No.2 in d for cello and orchestra (1902)
Who was Alexandre Barjansky?
Alexandre Barjansky (1883-1946)
- Pupil of Julius Klengel.
- Dedicatee of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo, though the piece was premiered by Hans Kindler.
- Premiered Delius’ Cello Concerto in 1923.
Who was Felix Salmond?
Felix Salmond (1888-1952)
- Premiered Elgar’s Concerto in e for cello and orchestra, Op.85 (1918–1919), String Quartet in E minor, and Piano Quintet in A minor
- Teacher of Orlando Cole, Bernard Greenhouse, Leonard Rose.
Who was Hans Kindler?
Hans Kindler (1892-1949)
- Premiered Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hebraïque for cello and orchestra (1916), though the piece was dedicated to Alexandre Barjansky.
- He founded the National Symphony Orchestra in 1931 and was its conductor until 1949, performing many works of new composers.
Who was Emanuel Feuermann?
Emanuel Feuermann (1902–1942)
- Around 1929, he performed with Carl Flesch, Paul Hindemith, Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, and Arthur Rubinstein.
- Premiered Arnold Schoenberg’s Cello Concerto.
- Pupil of Julius Klengel.
Who was Gregor Piatigorsky?
Gregor Piatigorsky (1903–1976)
- Pupil of Anatoliy Brandukov and Julius Klengel.
Piatigorsky participated in a chamber group with Arthur Rubinstein, William Primrose, and Jascha Heifetz.
- Premieres and dedications: Hindemith’s Concerto in G for cello and orchestra (1940; premiere only), Walton’s Cello Concerto (1956; dedication and premiere)
Who was Raya Garbousova?
Raya Garbousova (1909-1997)
- Premiered Samuel Barber’s Concerto in a for cello and orchestra (1945).
- Mother of Paul Biss.
Name Schoenberg’s cellist.
Emanuel Feuermann
