1st cello concerto (Shostakovich)

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The Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major op. 107 is the first cello concerto by Dmitri Dmitrijewitsch Shostakowitsch from 1959. He dedicated it to the cellist Mstislaw Leopoldowitsch Rostropowitsch , who was his student and a good friend.

Origin and premiere

The concert came about at a time when the legacy of Josef Stalin's cultural bureaucracy was slowly being overcome during the thaw . Under Stalin, significant parts of Shostakovich's compositions were considered "alien and formalistic". The concert is part of Shostakovich's musical settlement with Stalin. On October 4, 1959, the cello concerto was premiered in the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic by Mstislav Rostropovich with the Leningrad Philharmonic under the direction of Yevgeny Maravinsky .

structure

The cello concerto, which begins with a variation of the autobiographical motif DSCH and repeatedly refers to it in the following, thrives on fresh rhythms to which changing meters flexibly adapt, but which occasionally go beyond the meter. The flow of the music is created by the many shifts in accent.

The driving movements and the dance-like arrogance of the first and third movements contrast with the melancholy of the second movement. This unfolds two cantilever themes to which the third movement refers again. A Saraband rhythm and simple folk melody formations with scattered barrel organ sounds and volatile flageolet cello give this set those touching poignancy, as is typical for other works of Shostakovich. Their effect is based, among other things, on the fact that the solo instrument uses flageolet to play the higher notes compared to the treble strings. The third movement is a cadenza or “monologue” for the solo cello.

The breathless final movement is characterized by sparkling virtuosity. He goes back to the main motif of the first movement. He also quotes Josef Stalin's favorite song , “ Suliko ”.

Similar to his 1st piano concerto, the solo part is an additional instrument, in this case a horn , with various solo parts . The timpani also occupies a special position in the concert, acting as the counterpart to the cello part, repeatedly creating breaks in the melodic and rhythmic sequence and, in combination with the chromaticism in the fourth movement, acquires a threatening character.

Sentence names

  1. Allegretto
  2. Moderato
  3. Cadenza
  4. Allegro con moto

Cast and playing time

The playing time is given in the score as 29 minutes. The orchestra consists of a small flute and two flutes , two oboes , two Bb clarinets , two bassoons , horn in F, timpani, celesta and the string section (first and second violins , violas , cellos and double basses) .

Others

In the third movement (Allegretto) of Shostakovich's most autobiographical and best-known string quartet No. 8 , the main motif of the cello concerto is heard several times.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Šostakovič, Dmitrij in Munzinger Online / KDG: Composers of the Present . Retrieved August 23, 2017
  2. ↑ Klaus Heitmann: 1959 Dimitri Schostakowitsch (1906–1975) Cello Concerto No. 1 . Posted on WordPress.com blog on October 8, 2008, accessed September 16, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b Johannes Moser in: Susanne Herzog: Schostakowitsch - Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, op.107 . BR-Klassik show "The strong piece", February 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ Dmitri Shostakovich: 1st concert . Universal Edition , accessed September 16, 2017.
  5. ↑ Dimitri Schostakowitsch String Quartet in C minor, op. 110. In: Chamber Music Guide Villa Musica Rhineland-Palatinate . Archived from the original on August 24, 2017 ; accessed on September 16, 2017 .