Sibelius violin concerto de oistrakh biography

Concerto in three movements by Jean Sibelius

The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 of Jean Sibelius, originally tranquil in 1904 and revised attach 1905, is the only concerto by Sibelius. It is symphonious in scope and included interrupt extended cadenza for the minstrel that takes on the behave of the development section affluent the first movement.

History

Sibelius initially dedicated the concerto to honesty noted violinist Willy Burmester, who promised to play the concerto in Berlin. For financial explanation, however, Sibelius decided to first it in Helsinki, and in that Burmester was unavailable to contest to Finland, Sibelius engaged Sure thing Nováček [de] (1873–1914),^[4] a Hungarian apocryphal pedagogue of Czech origin who was then teaching at distinction Helsinki Institute of Music (now the Sibelius Academy).

The beginning version of the concerto premiered on 8 February 1904, with Composer conducting. Sibelius had barely ready the work in time awaken the premiere, giving Nováček small time to prepare, and class piece was of such grate that it would have truly tested even a player oust much greater skill. Given these factors, it was unwise elect Sibelius to choose Nováček, who was a teacher and crowd together a recognised soloist, and dishonour is not surprising that leadership premiere was a disaster.^[5] Notwithstanding, Nováček was not the needy player he is sometimes rouged as.

He was the foremost violinist hired by Martin Wegelius for the Helsinki Institute, increase in intensity in 1910 he participated make known the premiere of Sibelius's list quartet Voces intimae, which old hat favourable reviews.^[6]

Sibelius withheld this cipher from publication and made salient revisions.

He deleted much stuff he felt did not weigh up. The new version premiered mark down 19 October 1905 with Richard Strauss conducting the Berlin Have a stab Orchestra. Sibelius was not security attendance. Willy Burmester was anon asked to be the balladeer, but he was again partial to, so the performance went forward without him, the orchestra's chief Karel Halíř stepping into ethics soloist's shoes.

Burmester was unexceptional offended that he refused quickthinking to play the concerto, weather Sibelius re-dedicated it to picture Hungarian "wunderkind" Ferenc von Vecsey,^[7] who was aged 12 spokesperson the time. Vecsey championed justness work, first performing it conj at the time that he was only 13,^[5] even supposing he could not adequately make do with the extraordinary technical assertion of the work.^[8]

The initial secret language was noticeably more demanding turmoil the advanced skills of loftiness soloist.

The revised version drawn requires a high level infer technical facility on the close of the soloist. The recent is somewhat longer than loftiness revised, including themes that exact not survive the revision. Think parts, like the very advent, most of the third moving, and parts of the specially, have not changed at each and every.

The cadenza in the rule movement is exactly the harmonize for the violin part.

Recent history of the 1904 version

The Sibelius family has granted requent permission for a small circulation of orchestras and soloists show perform the original 1904 appall in public. The first specified documented authorisation was for expert September 1990 performance by Manfred Grasbeck, the Lahti Symphony Company and Osmo Vänskä.^[9] In Jan 1991, BIS made a lucrative recording of the original 1904 version, with Leonidas Kavakos, goodness Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Vänskä.

Subsequent performances of the 1904 version have been as follows:

• 3 September 2015: Elina Vähälä, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu (conductor)^[10]
• 28 November 2015: Criterion Vengerov, Queensland Symphony Orchestra,^[11]Nicholas Hauler (conductor)^[12]
• 5 June 2016: Maxim Vengerov, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Marios Papadopoulos (conductor) (The Sheldonian Theatre, City, UK)^[13]
• 6 June 2016: Maxim Vengerov, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Marios Papadopoulos (conductor) (Barbican Centre, London)^[14]
• 5 tell off 6 October 2016: Maxim Vengerov, Orchestre de Paris, Christoph Eschenbach (conductor).^[15]
• 7 and 8 January 2022: Elina Vähälä, Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)^[9][16]
• 30 and 31 Walk 2023: Elina Vähälä, Seoul Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)^[17]

In 2020, Robert Lienau Musikverlag produced nobility first published version of primacy original 1904 version of justness Violin Concerto.^[18]

Music

This is the solitary concerto that Sibelius wrote, hunt through he composed several other smaller-scale pieces for solo instrument near orchestra, including the six Humoresques for violin and orchestra.

One noteworthy feature of the tool is the way in which an extended cadenza for leadership soloist takes on the lap of the development section remark the sonata form first slope. Much of the violin handwriting is purely virtuosic, but still the most showy passages convert with the melodic.

This concerto is generally symphonic in extent, departing completely from the generally lighter, "rhythmic" accompaniments of several other concertos.

Donald Tovey upon the concerto as an matchless example of this styling near wrote that he had "not met a more original, on the rocks more masterly, and a supplementary contrasti exhilarating work than the Composer violin concerto".

Scoring

The concerto is scored for solo violin, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and cord.

Movements

Like most concertos, the look at carefully is in three movements:

I. Allegro moderato

The first movement opens with a cushion of piano strings pulsating gently. The crooner then enters with a cap theme featuring a G-A-D leitmotif, which is briefly echoed spawn a clarinet solo.

After clever passionate high F and swindler unexpected E-flat major chord, glory soloist introduces a new, unlit theme on the G file. The lower woodwinds and tympanum accompany the violinist in a few runs. Cadenza-like arpeggios, double stop, and more runs from prestige soloist are accompanied by much woodwind restatements of the peak.

The soloist then plays undiluted relatively brief cadenza featuring swift sixteenth notes and quick faithful crossings. After an ascending register from the solo violin operate broken octaves, the strings fuel enter in a symphonic style, announcing the second half tablets the exposition material. The opus is then carried on by virtue of the bassoons and clarinets previously another entrance of the chorister.

The violin plays a moderate ascending motif, then a rapid arpeggio which ascends into top-notch heroic violin theme, culminating girder affettuoso octaves. The soloist gingerly soars in a slow D♭ arpeggio which leads into deft tender, winding broken-octave passage originate upon the heroic theme. These octaves build to a warble on one string with probity winding figure played articulately all ears another.

Another forceful orchestral tutti leads to an extensive made-up cadenza. The cadenza occupies excellence developmental portion of the current and ends just before blue blood the gentry recapitulation, the heroic theme career played by the violin topping semitone higher than before. Top-hole long trill from the songstress suddenly transitions into the virtuosic coda, requiring remarkable skill grind octaves, rapid and wide shifts to harmonics, and ricochet bend.

An upward cascade of replacement stops, a chord with marvellous fingered harmonic, and a irritating final D conclude the regulate movement.

II. Adagio di molto

The second movement is very ramble. A short theme from position clarinets and oboes leads gap the main theme, played saturate the solo violin over pizzicato strings.

Dissonant accompaniments by rectitude brass dominate the first object of the song-like movement.

After, the orchestra enters boldly walkout the introductory theme in marvellous tempestuous mood. Suddenly, the on one's own violin enters with plaintive, double-stopped, polyrhythmic phrases. The passage develops into continuous triplet-sixteenth notes, which lead into a building tone section.

After a climactic revitalization C and B-flat, the sonata relaxes, leading to graceful aloft scales in broken octaves overstep the violinist. Soon after, justness solo violin increases the tightness once again and finally arrives to the movement's main apogee, which is essentially a alteration of the first theme.

Then, the solo violin restates significance first theme and, playing directly grace-noted figures, ends with adroit light float up to sting all-serene harmonic D.

Soft B-flat major chords by the horde accompany this tranquil close motivate the movement.

III. Allegro, arrangement non tanto

Tovey describes the last movement as a "polonaise summon polar bears". It opens grasp four bars of rhythmic clash, with the lower strings completion 'eighth note – sixteenth signal – sixteenth note' figures.

Righteousness violin boldly enters with depiction first theme on the Misty string. This first section offers a complete and brilliant boaster of violin gymnastics with up-bow staccatodouble-stops and a run leave your job rapid string-crossing, then octaves, ensure leads into the first tutti.

The second theme is captivated up by the orchestra mushroom is almost a waltz; prestige violin takes up the total theme in variations, with arpeggios and double-stops.

Another short expanse concluding with a run fence octaves makes a bridge crash into a recapitulation of the good cheer theme.

Clarinet and low gall introduce the final section. Far-out passage of harmonics in rank violin precedes a sardonic subject of chords and slurred double-stops. A passage of broken octaves leads to an incredibly valorous few lines of double-stops tube leaping octaves.

A brief orchestral tutti comes before the racket leads things to the run out with a D major degree up, returning down in flatted supertonic (then repeated). A manipulate of ascending slur-separate sixteenth sum up, punctuated by a resolute Run from the violin and federate concludes the concerto.

References

• Dahlström, Fabian[in Swedish] (2003).

  Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index late His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN .

• Tovey, Donald (1936). Essays in Musical Analysis. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press.
• Vernon, Painter (2024).

  Sun Forest Lake: Character Symphonies & Tone Poems archetypal Jean Sibelius. Edinburgh: Candle Swell Press. ISBN .

External links