Harmonica Concerto (Spivakovsky)

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The Concerto for Harmonica by the Russian-born British composer Michael Spivakovsky (1919–1983) is the first major concert ever for (chromatic) harmonica and orchestra. It was written in 1951 and was dedicated to the well-known harmonica player Tommy Reilly (1919-2000), who premiered it with the London Radio Concert Orchestra under Mark Lubbock on May 26, 1951 and later recorded it on CD. Today it is one of the most popular pieces of its kind, although only a few years later Malcolm Arnold and Heitor Villa-Lobos also published harmonica concerts (1954 and 1955, with the Villa-Lobos concerto only being premiered in 1959).

The work belongs to the "lighter" classical pieces that are suitable for promenade concerts, but it is technically demanding. The concert has three movements, the playing time is about 15 minutes.

The first movement "Fuocoso" is in A major and, after a short orchestral introduction and the main theme, unusually begins directly with a long cadenza of the solo instrument. A "Danse drole" follows, followed by the main theme and a slower part. After repeating the main theme, a short coda ends the movement. The style has been compared to Jean Sibelius , but it bears clear traits of Russian musical tradition.

The second movement, entitled "Romance" ("Moderato"), is in a strongly contrasting E flat major, whereby the solo instrument introduces chromatic elements, but changes back to A major in the middle section. Other wind instruments also emerge with solo interludes. The harmonica is given the opportunity to play vibrato. This is where the composer's Russian origins can be felt most clearly.

The short finale, a Scherzo ("Allegro ma non troppo") is outwardly simple and at the same time effective, is in C major and appears light-footed and harmless, but presents the solo player with high technical challenges despite largely dispensing with chromatic notes.

The concert recently became known again when the young British harmonica player Philip Achille played the first movement in the final of the Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 competition in Vienna in May 2008.

literature

  • Bosworth & Co., Score Michael Spivakovsky, Concerto for Harmonica, London 1951
  • Dr. Timothy Maloney, review of the recording of the 1977 concert with Tommy Reilly and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Charles Gerhardt in Munich, Colchester o. J.