by Anton Wachmann
I was listening again to the radio on the way back from a rehearsal, and it was amazing! After doing some research I found this out. Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto, Op. 15, was written from 1938 to 1939. It was premiered in New York, on 29 March 1940 by the Spanish violinist Antonio Brosa with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli. A revised version of the concerto appeared in the 1950s, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian.
The work opens with a series of timpani strokes, a reminder perhaps of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. The rhythm is taken up by the bassoon and other instruments, persisting as an ostinato throughout the entire work. The violin enters with a song-like lament, soaring above the orchestra. The music is soon interrupted by a more militaristic and percussive secondary theme.
The ensuing second movement, cast as a wild, moto perpetuo scherzo, unmistakably recalls Prokofiev. The movement culminates in an impressive cadenza which, while recalling musical material from both the first and second movements, acts as an organic link straight into the finale.
As the finale, Britten uses a passacaglia : a set of variations on a ground bass, in the tradition of the Baroque chaconnes by Purcell and Bach. The ground bass, tonally unstable, is initially introduced by the trombone, as the violin recalls its lyrical theme from the first movement. Individual variations unfold, taking up characters of song, dance, capriccio and march. By the end, the ground bass is reduced to chant-like reminiscences; the orchestra leaves hints of an unmistakable D major chord, while the soloist is left undecided in a trill between the notes F-natural and G flat.
“Benjamin Britten’s concerto is arguably the most challenging to play on this collection and the most sobering work here, and shows another side of Shaham’s musical personality. A work with a martial-like drama, and for the most part a forceful, bordering on violent, execution of the work unfolds, interspersed – where called for – by an ethereal sound world bordering on the surreal. The tonal ambiguity at the end of the third movement is positively haunting. In concert, the Chicago Classical Review noted “This is music that fits Gil Shaham like a well-tailored glove.” – http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/55604/Benjamin-Britten-Violin-Concerto-in-D-minor-Op-15
I was listening again to the radio on the way back from a rehearsal, and it was amazing! After doing some research I found this out. Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto, Op. 15, was written from 1938 to 1939. It was premiered in New York, on 29 March 1940 by the Spanish violinist Antonio Brosa with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli. A revised version of the concerto appeared in the 1950s, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian.
The work opens with a series of timpani strokes, a reminder perhaps of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. The rhythm is taken up by the bassoon and other instruments, persisting as an ostinato throughout the entire work. The violin enters with a song-like lament, soaring above the orchestra. The music is soon interrupted by a more militaristic and percussive secondary theme.
The ensuing second movement, cast as a wild, moto perpetuo scherzo, unmistakably recalls Prokofiev. The movement culminates in an impressive cadenza which, while recalling musical material from both the first and second movements, acts as an organic link straight into the finale.
As the finale, Britten uses a passacaglia : a set of variations on a ground bass, in the tradition of the Baroque chaconnes by Purcell and Bach. The ground bass, tonally unstable, is initially introduced by the trombone, as the violin recalls its lyrical theme from the first movement. Individual variations unfold, taking up characters of song, dance, capriccio and march. By the end, the ground bass is reduced to chant-like reminiscences; the orchestra leaves hints of an unmistakable D major chord, while the soloist is left undecided in a trill between the notes F-natural and G flat.
“Benjamin Britten’s concerto is arguably the most challenging to play on this collection and the most sobering work here, and shows another side of Shaham’s musical personality. A work with a martial-like drama, and for the most part a forceful, bordering on violent, execution of the work unfolds, interspersed – where called for – by an ethereal sound world bordering on the surreal. The tonal ambiguity at the end of the third movement is positively haunting. In concert, the Chicago Classical Review noted “This is music that fits Gil Shaham like a well-tailored glove.” – http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/55604/Benjamin-Britten-Violin-Concerto-in-D-minor-Op-15