Violoncello Concerto (Prokofiev)
The cello concerto in E minor, op. 58 is a cello concerto by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev . It formed the basis for Prokofiev's revision, which became known as the Sinfonia Concertante, op. 125 .
Emergence
The first sketches for the Violoncello Concerto in E minor, op. 58 were made in the summer of 1933, which Prokofiev spent first alone in Paris and then with his family on the Mediterranean in Sainte-Maxime at the Les Pins Parasols estate . Because of the work on the film music for Alexander Nevsky , Prokofiev interrupted the work in 1938, but finished the concert in the same year. The Moscow premiere on November 26, 1938 by the symphonic orchestra of the USSR under the direction of Alexander Melik-Paschajew was a failure, not least due to the lack of understanding of the cellist Lev Berezovsky. But friends of the composer also had objections; Myaskovsky noted in his diary: “Something is missing.” On the basis of Myaskovsky's objections, Prokofiev decided to undertake a thorough revision, which mainly concerned the cello cadenza ; this version of op. 58 was made known in 1940 by the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky in the United States. In 1947 the composer had the long-forgotten work performed by the young Rostropovich ; the latter then suggested to Prokofiev to write a second new version of the concerto for him.
It was not until 1950 that Prokofiev tackled this and worked together with Rostropovich on the Nikolina Gora estate on the symphonic new version of the cello concerto. For this purpose, the composer evaluated scores of cello sonatas that Rostropovich brought with him, and others. a. Works by Davydov . The joint work culminated in the Symphonic Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra, op.125 in E minor , which took place on February 18, 1952 in the Moscow Conservatory by the Moscow Youth Orchestra and directed by Svyatoslaw Richter , who appeared as a conductor for the first time . ; The soloist was, of course, the dedicatee Mstislaw Rostropovich.
To the music
Against the background of Soviet musical aesthetics, Prokofiev's biographer Nestyev spoke of "a union of the old and the new Prokofiev:" "Tonal and harmonic sharpness and a certain mannerism on the one hand, as well as lyrical themes appropriate to the solo instrument and the freshness of the modulation on the other hand are equally present there." It is one of the most difficult works in the cello literature: “Using the deep bass registers through to the most delicate violin tones , a variety and boldness of technical means appear here. Spring bows , arco - pizzicato alternation, two or four-part melodies as well as whirling virtuoso passages are nothing unusual. "
The concert is divided into three parts
- Andante - Poco meno mosso (andante assai) - Adagio
- Allegro giusto
- Tema (allegro) - Interludio 1 - Variations 1–3 - Interludio 2 - Variation 4 - Reminiscenza (meno mosso) - Coda (poco sostenuto) - Più mosso
Recordings
- Walter Süskind - Vienna Philharmonic, Janos Starker cello
- Alban Gerhardt - Bergen Philharm. Orchestra (2009), Andrew Litton , cello
literature
- Gabriele Beinhorn: The 1st Violoncello Concerto op. 58 and the Sinfonia Concertante op. 125 in E minor . In: International Music Festival - Sergei Prokofiev and contemporary music from the Soviet Union. Program book. City of Duisburg, 1990