Dvorak Cello Concerto in B

Classical Music / Cello Concerto


The Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191, is a concerto for cello and orchestra. It is the last solo concerto by Antonín Dvořák. It was written in 1894–95 for his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan, but was premiered by the English cellist Leo Stern in London on March 19, 1896. It is one of the most frequently performed of all cello concerti, admired for the richness of its orchestral music and for the lyrical writing of the solo instrument, in this case, the cello.

Below is a re-discovered recording of Dvořák Cello Concerto in B, a concert performed by the brilliant cellist Jacqueline du Pré, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. It was held in tribute to the people of Czechoslovakia days after the Soviet Union invaded. Filmed live at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1968.




The piece is scored for a full romantic orchestra (with the exception of a 4th horn), containing two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle (last movement only), and strings. It follows a typical standard three-movement concerto format of fast, slow, and fast tempi: 

1. Allegro (B minor then B major, about 15 minutes)
2. Adagio, ma non troppo (G major, about 12 minutes).
3. Finale: Allegro moderato — Andante — Allegro vivo (B minor then B major; about 13 minutes)

The concerto opens with a broad orchestral statement, bringing in the soloist after the initial themes are introduced. At this point, the soloist restates those themes in a new and more elaborate fashion.

The melancholy second movement quotes a theme from one of Dvořák’s own songs, "Lass mich allein" (German), which means "Leave Me Alone."  (The song had been a favourite of the composer’s sister-in-law Josefina, who then recently died. Having loved Josefina before he consented to marry her sister Anna, Dvořák here paid tribute to his first love.)  In the final movement, the composer builds a rondo structure, and in its final bars, we hear brief recapitulations of melodies from the previous movements.


Video Credit:

Jacqueline du Pré - Dvořák Cello Concerto – London Symphony Orchestra cond. Daniel Barenboim. Youtube, uploaded by blue8348. Accessed Novmber 13, 2017.


Resources:

Cello Concerto (Dvořák). en.wikipedia.org.  Accessed March 19, 2015.

Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed March 19, 2015.



(c) 2015-2017.  Tel Asiado.  Written for Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

David Livingstone - Exploring the World

Explorer/Missionary Dateline:  March 19

Explorer and Missionary David Livingstone

David Livingstone, (1813-1873), Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa, is born on March 19, 1813,  in Blantyre, Lanarkshire. He is considered one of the world's greatest explorers.  He worked in a cotton factory in his hometown until he was 24. It was a pamphlet by a German missionary that inspired him to become a missionary. After studying medicine in London he was attracted to Africa by Robert Moffat who eventually became his father-in-law. He married Mary, Moffat's daughter, in 1844.

Massenet Méditation de Thaïs with Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter

Classical Music Datebook: March 16 

 

Famous Méditation from the Opera Thaïs by J. Massenet

The Méditation is a symphonic intermezzo from Jules Massenet's opera Thaïs, first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris, March 16, 1894. It was written for solo violin and orchestra. It is a symphonic entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Thaïs. In the first scene of Act II, Athanaël, a Cenobite monk, confronts Thaïs, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devotée of Venus. He tries to convince her to relinquish her life of worldly life of luxury and pleasure, and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the Méditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the Méditation, Thaïs tells Athanaël that she will follow him to the desert.



Brief note about the Méditation symphonic intermezzo.

The famous piece is composed by Massenet in D major and is approximately five minutes long or over six minutes. Massenet may also have written it with religious intent signifying that it should be played religiously and at solemn tempo. The piece opens with a short introduction by the harps, with the solo violin quickly entering with the motif.

Albert Einstein

Science / Scientists Datebook: 14 March

 

 

A brief biography of Albert Einstein, German-born American physicist, Famous for Theory of Relativity, E=MC².

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, we remember the birthday of Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955), German-born American, born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany. Theoretical physicist and mathematician, Einstein is best known for his Theory of Relativity, with formula insignia E=MC².  He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, especially for his discovery of the law of photoelectric effect, and "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory . He was highly influential on the Manhattan Project, which led to the first atomic bomb. Like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his musical idol, in the scientific world, Einstein's name has become synonymous with genius. 

 

Having made important contributions to quantum mechanics, Einstein was therefore a central figure in the revolutionary reshaping of the scientific understanding of nature that modern physics accomplished in the first decades of the twentieth century. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc², which arises from relativity theory, has been called "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.

Maurice Ravel

Composer's Datebook: March 7

French Composer Maurice Ravel, famous for Pavanne pour une infante defunte, the ballet Daphnis et Chloe, and Bolero.

 French composer and pianist Maurice Ravel is known especially for the subtlety, richness and poignancy of his music. His works, primarily piano, chamber-music and orchestral works, have become repertoire staples.

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was born  on March 7, 1875, in Ciboure, France. He studies in Conservatoire de Paris. He was known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental music. Along with Claude Debussy, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music.


Ravel's piano compositions, especially his orchestrations, as in Daphnis et Chloe and his arrangements of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, are notable for their effective use of tonal color and variety of sound. 

Tchaikovsky Ballet: Swan Lake

Classical Ballet Music Milestone: March 4

Tchaikovsky ballet Swan Lake premieres this day, 4th March, 1877.

Swan Lake, Op. 20, is  a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-76. It is one of his three famous ballets of all-time, despite its initial failure. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.


Initially in two acts, the plot was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a curse of an evil sorcerer. The choreographer of the original production was Václav Reisinger. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their choreograph and music on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Russian Imperial Ballet on 15th January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersurg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor Riccardo Drigo.

 

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake - The Kirov Ballet

 

 

Video Credit:

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake - The Kirov Ballet. Uploaded by Warner Classics. Accessed December 4, 2023.

Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 'Scottish'

Classical Music Milestone / Symphony. March 3.

The Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, known as the Scottish, is composed by Felix Mendelssohn between 1829 and 1842.  The first performance took place on 3 March 1842 in Leipzig Gewandhaus. It is not known when he resumed work on it although sketches suggest he may have returned to the first movement in the late 1830s, but he worked earnestly on the piece by 1841, and completed the symphony in Berlin on January 20, 1842.  Although this work was the fifth and final of his symphonies to be completed, it was the third to be published, and subsequently, been known as Symphony No. 3.



Brief History of Symphony No. 3   

Mendelssohn was initially inspired to compose this symphony during his first visit to Britain in 1829. After a series of successful performances in London, Mendelssohn embarked on a walking tour of Scotland with his friend Karl Klingemann. On July 30, he visited the ruins of Holyrood Chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where, as he related to his family in a letter, he received his initial inspiration for the piece: