4 minute read
Program Notes
by Pam Davis, Assistant Concertmaster
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77 (1878)
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Dedicated to his friend, the great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, who also performed the premiere, the Brahms violin concerto is one of the most loved and celebrated works in the violin repertoire. Written the summer after he completed his second symphony, which was heard in January, this piece was composed at the same idyllic retreat in Austria, where Brahms exclaimed that melodies were everywhere.
Joachim was consulted every step of the way in the writing of the concerto, most often by mail. However, at times Brahms would thank him for his input on revisions and then disregard it. But much of the concerto, and not just the first-movement cadenza, bears Joachim’s influence. After the premiere, but before it was published, Joachim convinced Brahms to make additional changes.
Before the violin solo enters, the opening tutti introduces three themes and works up to an insistent string climax, only to fall away and invite the soloist to expand and reinterpret the material magnificently. Following the glorious cadenza, the coda brings a serene return to the opening theme only to be reawakened with a stirring finish.
The work was originally to be in four movements, but during the process Brahms wrote to Joachim of abandoning that plan, saying about the warm and thoughtful second movement, “I have written a meager adagio instead.” The oboe is the star of this movement until the solo violin joins and varies the tranquil melody. The pastoral mood weaves throughout until at the end the violin and oboe alternately converse.
The finale brings out the fire of the gypsy spirit from Brahms’s early experience accompanying Hungarian violinist Eduard Remènyi and as a tribute to his friend Joachim. The energetic rondo is filled with brilliant passage work and double stops. Powerful final chords conclude the movement after swirling triplets and virtuosic passage work trail off once again relaxing the excitement.
Though exceedingly difficult for the soloist, there are no gratuitous fireworks; the virtuoso playing is always in the service of expression. The orchestra has a larger role than in most concertos up to this point, which may have been partial explanation of why the concerto was not an instant triumph; critics were lukewarm at best in the early days. Always self-critical and sensitive, it is said that Brahms burned the draft of a second violin concerto following the searing critique of this masterpiece. e WORLD EVENTS: George M. Cohan is born, H.M.S. Pinafore
premieres, Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony premieres
e FIRST PERFORMANCE: January 1, 1879, Leipzig, the composer
conducting
soloist, Andres Franco conducting
Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Opus 59 (suite-1944; opera-1910)
Strauss’s most popular opera was composed on the heels of his great success with the sensational Salome. Pairing again with his librettist on Elektra, poet Hugo von Hoffmansthal, the story is adapted from a French novel by Louvet de Couvray. Set in mid-18th century Vienna, the story revolves around four main characters: an aristocrat Marschallin and her young lover Octavian, (played by a mezzo-soprano, due to the character’s youth), her coarse cousin Baron von Ochs, and his proposed fiancée, Sophie.
At the Marschallin’s suggestion, Octavian acts as the Baron’s Rosenkavalier (rose bearer) to Sophie with a ceremonial silver rose, signifying Och’s proposal. But Octavian and Sophie fall in love at first sight. After subplots and much intrigue, the young lovers are united. While at first blush a comic opera, beneath the surface bubble themes of fidelity, aging, and selflessness.
While initially panned by critics, the premiere of the opera was a huge hit with the audience, which demanded ten curtain calls after Act II and twenty after Act III. Over the next year the opera was performed fifty times in Dresden alone, and was also produced in many other cities. The opera was so popular that Rosenkavalier champagne and cigarettes were marketed. Georg Solti conducted the music of the trio at Strauss’s memorial service.
The domination of the waltz genre was not Strauss’s idea, despite his sharing of surname with the unrelated waltz king. Hoffmansthal had suggested to him, “Try and think of an old-fashioned Viennese waltz, sweet and saucy, which should pervade the whole of the last act.” As it turns out, this was an anachronism in terms of the setting of the story; the waltz era was still in the future.
Several adaptations of the music have been created over the years, including a background score for a silent film version that was conducted by Strauss. The version on today’s programs is usually credited to conductor Artur Rodzinsky, who prepared the adaptation for a performance by the New York Philharmonic, although the published score contains no credit.
Opening with the dramatic horn motive associated with young Octavian, the Prelude to Act I is heavily excerpted in the suite. Also included are the music for the presentation of the silver rose, the Baron’s Act II arrival, waltzes from the second act, and the beautiful duet between Octavian and Sophie, (here with oboe and horn), the trio of the Marschallin, Sophie, and Octavian, and the Act III waltz. e WORLD EVENTS: (1910) Samuel Barber is born, Stravinsky’s Firebird
premieres, Mark Twain dies
e FIRST PERFORMANCE of the opera: January 26, 1911, Dresden; of the
