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Elgar, Cello Concerto in E Minor
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 i. Adagio; Moderato ii. Lento; Allegro molto iii. Adagio iv. Allegro; Moderato; Allegro, ma non troppo; Poco più lento; Adagio Edward Elgar enjoys a curious reputation in his own country. To many, he is the composer of overtly nationalistic music such as Pomp and Circumstance, the musical incarnation of Edwardian imperialism. Although early works such as the Enigma Variations and Imperial March garnered him praise and fame, it is his later works from 1918-1919 that are much more autobiographical in content – none more so than the Cello Concerto in E minor. The Concerto was mostly composed between 1918 and 1919 at Brinkwells, a cottage in the Sussex woods where he wrote three other chamber works – the Violin Sonata, String Quartet and Piano Quintet. Like these other Brinkwells compositions, the Cello Concerto is a deeply introspective work which reveals much about the composer’s state of mind: an aging artist concerned about his waning popularity, his wife’s failing health, and reflecting on the horrors of the First World War. Despite a grossly under-rehearsed première at the Queen’s Hall on 27 October 1919, it has since been established as perhaps the finest cello concerto in the repertoire, alongside Dvořák’s, and the only work of Elgar’s to enjoy regular performances outside the English-speaking world. The Cello Concerto is an emotionally draining work not only for the players but also the listener, its overwhelming mood one of melancholy and autumnal world-weariness. The first movement opens with a declamatory, grandiose statement by the soloist leading, in almost improvisatory style, into a lilting melody; there is a wistfully lyrical middle section before the opening melody returns. -
Leonard Bernstein
TuneUp! TuneUSaturday, October 18th, 2008 p! New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concert® elcome to a new season of Young People’s Concerts! Throughout history, there have been special times when music flowered in specific cities—Capitals of Music—that for a while W became the center of the musical world. Much of the music we know today comes from these times and places. But how did these great flowerings of music happen? That’s what we’ll find out this year as we discover the distinctive sounds of four of these Capitals. And where better to start than right here in New York? After the Second World War, our city became a cultural capital of the world. Leonard Bernstein—who became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic 50 years ago this fall—defined music in New York in his roles as composer, conductor, and teacher. So what was it like in New York back then? Let’s find out from a child of that time—Leonard Bernstein’s BERNSTEIN’S NEW YORK daughter Jamie! THE PROGRAM: BERNSTEIN “The Great Lover” from On the Town COPLAND “Skyline” from Music for a Great City (excerpt) GERSHWIN “I Got Rhythm” from Girl Crazy BERNSTEIN “America” from West Side Story Suite No. 2 COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man Jamie Bernstein, host BERNSTEIN On the Waterfront Symphonic Suite (excerpt) Delta David Gier, conductor SEBASTIAN CURRIER “quickchange” from Microsymph Tom Dulack, scriptwriter and director BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide 1 2 3 5 4 CAN YOU IDENTIFY EVERYTHING IN AND AROUND LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S NEW YORK STUDIO? LOOK ON THE BACK PAGE TO SEE WHETHER YOU’RE RIGHT. -
String Quartet in E Minor, Op 83
String Quartet in E minor, op 83 A quartet in three movements for two violins, viola and cello: 1 - Allegro moderato; 2 - Piacevole (poco andante); 3 - Allegro molto. Approximate Length: 30 minutes First Performance: Date: 21 May 1919 Venue: Wigmore Hall, London Performed by: Albert Sammons, W H Reed - violins; Raymond Jeremy - viola; Felix Salmond - cello Dedicated to: The Brodsky Quartet Elgar composed two part-quartets in 1878 and a complete one in 1887 but these were set aside and/or destroyed. Years later, the violinist Adolf Brodsky had been urging Elgar to compose a string quartet since 1900 when, as leader of the Hallé Orchestra, he performed several of Elgar's works. Consequently, Elgar first set about composing a String Quartet in 1907 after enjoying a concert in Malvern by the Brodsky Quartet. However, he put it aside when he embarked with determination on his long-delayed First Symphony. It appears that the composer subsequently used themes intended for this earlier quartet in other works, including the symphony. When he eventually returned to the genre, it was to compose an entirely fresh work. It was after enjoying an evening of chamber music in London with Billy Reed’s quartet, just before entering hospital for a tonsillitis operation, that Elgar decided on writing the quartet, and he began it whilst convalescing, completing the first movement by the end of March 1918. He composed that first movement at his home, Severn House, in Hampstead, depressed by the war news and debilitated from his operation. By May, he could move to the peaceful surroundings of Brinkwells, the country cottage that Lady Elgar had found for them in the depth of the Sussex countryside. -
January 07, 2018
January 07, 2018: (Full-page version) Close Window “Bores can be divided into two classes; those who have their own particular subject, and those who do not need a subject.” — A. A. Milne Start Buy CD Program Composer Title Performers Record Label Stock Number Barcode Time online Sleepers, 00:01 Buy Now! Poulenc Sextet for piano and winds Roge/Gallois/Bourgue/Portal/Wallez/Cazalet London 421 581 028942158122 Awake! 00:20 Buy Now! Tchaikovsky Elegie ~ Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48 Moscow Virtuosi/Spivakov RCA 61964 090266196425 00:31 Buy Now! Borodin String Quartet No. 2 in D Emerson String Quartet DG 445 551 028944555127 01:00 Buy Now! Fauré Pavane, Op. 50 Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy Sony Classical 62644 074646264423 01:08 Buy Now! Schubert Symphony No. 6 in C, D. 589 Cologne Radio Symphony/Wand EMI 47875 077774787529 01:42 Buy Now! Wagner Prelude to Act 1 & Love-Death ~ Tristan & Isolde NY Philhamonic/Boulez Sony 64108 074646410820 Andante and Rondo for 2 Flutes and Piano, Op. 01:59 Buy Now! Doppler Rampal/Arimany/Ritter Delos 3212 013491321226 25 02:09 Buy Now! Bach I call to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, BWV 639 Ma/Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Koopman Sony 60680 074646068021 02:13 Buy Now! Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 "Pastoral" Philharmonia Orchestra/Ashkenazy Decca 410 003 028941000323 03:01 Buy Now! Haydn Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Baumann/Academy SMF/Brown Philips 422 346 028942234628 03:18 Buy Now! Rossini Overture ~ William Tell Vienna Philharmonic/Sargent Seraphim/EMI 69137 724356913721 03:32 Buy Now! Mendelssohn String Quartet in A minor, Op. -
Tertis's Viola Version of Elgar's Cello Concerto by Anthony Addison Special to Clevelandclassical
Preview Heights Chamber Orchestra conductor's notes: Tertis's viola version of Elgar's Cello Concerto by Anthony Addison Special to ClevelandClassical An old adage suggested that violists were merely vio- linists-in-decline. That was before Lionel Tertis! He was born in 1876 of musical parents who had come to England from Poland and Russia and, at three years old, he started playing the piano. At six he performed in public, but had to be locked in a room to make him practice, a procedure that has actually fostered many an international virtuoso. At thirteen, with the agree- ment of his parents, he left home to earn his living in music playing in pickup groups at summer resorts, accompanying a violinist, and acting as music attendant at a lunatic asylum. +41:J:-:/1?<1>95@@1041?@A0510-@(>5:5@E;88131;2!A?5/@-75:3B5;85:-?45? "second study," but concentrating on the piano and playing concertos with the school or- chestra. As sometime happens, his violin teacher showed little interest in a second study <A<58-:01B1:@;8045?2-@41>@4-@41C-?.1@@1>J@@102;>@413>;/1>E@>-01 +5@4?A/4 encouragement, Tertis decided he had to teach himself. Fate intervened when fellow stu- dents wanted to form a string quartet. Tertis volunteered to play viola, borrowed an in- strument, loved the rich quality of its lowest string and thereafter turned the old adage up- side down: a not very obviously gifted violinist becoming a world class violist. But, until the viola attained respectability in Tertis’s hands, composers were reluctant to write for the instrument. -
PRELUDE, FUGUE News for Friends of Leonard Bernstein RIFFS Spring/Summer 2004 the Leonard Bernstein School Improvement Model: More Findings Along the Way by Dr
PRELUDE, FUGUE News for Friends of Leonard Bernstein RIFFS Spring/Summer 2004 The Leonard Bernstein School Improvement Model: More Findings Along the Way by Dr. Richard Benjamin THE GRAMMY® FOUNDATION eonard Bernstein is cele brated as an artist, a CENTER FOP LEAR ll I IJ G teacher, and a scholar. His Lbook Findings expresses the joy he found in lifelong learning, and expounds his belief that the use of the arts in all aspects of education would instill that same joy in others. The Young People's Concerts were but one example of his teaching and scholarship. One of those concerts was devoted to celebrating teachers and the teaching profession. He said: "Teaching is probably the noblest profession in the world - the most unselfish, difficult, and hon orable profession. But it is also the most unappreciated, underrat Los Angeles. Devoted to improv There was an entrepreneurial ed, underpaid, and under-praised ing schools through the use of dimension from the start, with profession in the world." the arts, and driven by teacher each school using a few core leadership, the Center seeks to principles and local teachers Just before his death, Bernstein build the capacity in teachers and designing and customizing their established the Leonard Bernstein students to be a combination of local applications. That spirit Center for Learning Through the artist, teacher, and scholar. remains today. School teams went Arts, then in Nashville Tennessee. The early days in Nashville, their own way, collaborating That Center, and its incarnations were, from an educator's point of internally as well as with their along the way, has led to what is view, a splendid blend of rigorous own communities, to create better now a major educational reform research and talented expertise, schools using the "best practices" model, located within the with a solid reliance on teacher from within and from elsewhere. -
The Elgar Sketch-Books
THE ELGAR SKETCH-BOOKS PAMELA WILLETTS A MAJOR gift from Mrs H. S. Wohlfeld of sketch-books and other manuscripts of Sir Edward Elgar was received by the British Library in 1984. The sketch-books consist of five early books dating from 1878 to 1882, a small book from the late 1880s, a series of eight volumes made to Elgar's instructions in 1901, and two later books commenced in Italy in 1909.^ The collection is now numbered Add. MSS. 63146-63166 (see Appendix). The five early sketch-books are oblong books in brown paper covers. They were apparently home-made from double sheets of music-paper, probably obtained from the stock of the Elgar shop at 10 High Street, Worcester. The paper was sewn together by whatever means was at hand; volume III is held together by a gut violin string. The covers were made by the expedient of sticking brown paper of varying shades and textures to the first and last leaves of music-paper and over the spine. Book V is of slightly smaller oblong format and the sides of the music sheets in this volume have been inexpertly trimmed. The volumes bear Elgar's numbering T to 'V on the covers, his signature, and a date, perhaps that ofthe first entry in the volumes. The respective dates are: 21 May 1878(1), 13 August 1878 (II), I October 1878 (III), 7 April 1879 (IV), and i September 1881 (V). Elgar was not quite twenty-one when the first of these books was dated. Earlier music manuscripts from his hand have survived but the particular interest of these early sketch- books is in their intimate connection with the round of Elgar's musical activities, amateur and professional, at a formative stage in his career. -
BRITISH and COMMONWEALTH CONCERTOS from the NINETEENTH CENTURY to the PRESENT Sir Edward Elgar
BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH CONCERTOS FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT A Discography of CDs & LPs Prepared by Michael Herman Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Born in Broadheath, Worcestershire, Elgar was the son of a music shop owner and received only private musical instruction. Despite this he is arguably England’s greatest composer some of whose orchestral music has traveled around the world more than any of his compatriots. In addition to the Conceros, his 3 Symphonies and Enigma Variations are his other orchestral masterpieces. His many other works for orchestra, including the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Falstaff and Cockaigne Overture have been recorded numerous times. He was appointed Master of the King’s Musick in 1924. Piano Concerto (arranged by Robert Walker from sketches, drafts and recordings) (1913/2004) David Owen Norris (piano)/David Lloyd-Jones/BBC Concert Orchestra ( + Four Songs {orch. Haydn Wood}, Adieu, So Many True Princesses, Spanish Serenade, The Immortal Legions and Collins: Elegy in Memory of Edward Elgar) DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7148 (2005) Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 (1909-10) Salvatore Accardo (violin)/Richard Hickox/London Symphony Orchestra ( + Walton: Violin Concerto) BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9173 (2010) (original CD release: COLLINS CLASSICS COL 1338-2) (1992) Hugh Bean (violin)/Sir Charles Groves/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra ( + Violin Sonata, Piano Quintet, String Quartet, Concert Allegro and Serenade) CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE CDCFP 585908-2 (2 CDs) (2004) (original LP release: HMV ASD2883) (1973) -
West Side Story
West Side Story West Side Story is an American musical with a book rary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet . He prpro-o- byby Arthur Laurents, mmususiic bbyy Leonard Bernstein,, posed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish libretto/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower choreography byby Jerome Robbins..[1] It was inspired by East Side ofof Manhattan,,[6] during the Easter–Passover William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet .. season. The girl has survivvived the Holocaust and emi- The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood grated from Israel; the conflict was to be centered around in New York City in the mid-1950s, an ethnic, blue- anti-Semitism of the Catholic “Jets” towards the Jewish “Emeralds” (a name that made its way into the script as collar ne neighighborhood. (In the early 1960s much of thethe [7] neineighborhood would be clecleared in anan urban renewal a reference). Eager to write his first musical, Laurents project for the Lincoln Center, changing the neighbor- immediately agreed. Bernstein wanted to present the ma- hood’s character.)[2][3] The musical explores the rivalry terial in operatic form, but Robbins and Laurents resisted between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs the suggestion. They described the project as “lyric the- of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the ater”, and Laurents wrote a first draft he called East Side Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a Story. Only after he completed it did the group realize it white gang.[4] The young protagonist, Tony, a former was little more than a musicalization of themes that had member of the Jets and best friend of the gang leader, alreadybeencoveredinin plaplaysys liklikee Abie’s Irish Rose. -
Music Written for Piano and Violin
Music written for piano and violin: Title Year Approx. Length Allegretto on GEDGE 1885 4 mins 30 secs Bizarrerie 1889 2 mins 30 secs La Capricieuse 1891 4 mins 30 secs Gavotte 1885 4 mins 30 secs Une Idylle 1884 3 mins 30 secs May Song 1901 3 mins 45 secs Offertoire 1902 4 mins 30 secs Pastourelle 1883 3 mins 00 secs Reminiscences 1877 3 mins 00 secs Romance 1878 5 mins 30 secs Virelai 1883 3 mins 00 secs Publishers survive by providing the public with works they wish to buy. And a struggling composer, if he wishes his music to be published and therefore reach a wider audience, must write what a publisher believes he can sell. Only having established a reputation can a composer write larger scale works in a form of his own choosing with any realistic expectation of having them performed. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the stock-in-trade for most publishers was the sale of sheet music of short salon pieces for home performance. It was a form that was eventually to bring Elgar considerably enhanced recognition and a degree of financial success with the publication for solo piano of Salut d'Amour in 1888 and of three hugely popular works first published in arrangements for piano and violin - Mot d'Amour (1889), Chanson de Nuit (1897) and Chanson de Matin (1899). Elgar composed short pieces for solo piano sporadically throughout his life. But, apart from the two Chansons, May Song (1901) and Offertoire (1902), an arrangement of Sospiri and, of course, the Violin Sonata, all of Elgar's works for piano and violin were composed between 1877, the dawning of his ambitions to become a serious composer, and 1891, the year after his first significant orchestral success withFroissart. -
Vol.21 No 2 August 2018
Journal August 2018 Vol. 21, No. 2 The Elgar Society Journal 18 Holtsmere Close, Watford, Herts., WD25 9NG Email: [email protected] August 2018 Vol. 21, No. 2 Cross against Corselet: Elgar, Longfellow, and the Saga of King Olaf 3 President John T. Hamilton Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Elgar’s King Olaf – an illustrated history 15 John Norris, Arthur Reynolds Vice-Presidents To the edge of the Great Unknown: 1,000 Miles up the Amazon 27 Diana McVeagh Martin Bird Dame Janet Baker, CH, DBE Leonard Slatkin Book reviews 41 Sir Andrew Davis, CBE Barry Collett Donald Hunt, OBE Christopher Robinson, CVO, CBE CD reviews 43 Andrew Neill Barry Collett, Andrew Neill, Michael Schwalb Sir Mark Elder, CBE Martyn Brabbins DVD reviews 54 Tasmin Little, OBE Ian Lace Letters 56 Jerrold Northrop Moore, Andrew Neill, Arthur Reynolds Chairman Steven Halls Elgar viewed from afar 58 Alan Tongue, Martin Bird Vice-Chairman Stuart Freed 100 Years Ago 69 Martin Bird Treasurer Helen Whittaker Secretary George Smart The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by contributors, nor does the Elgar Society accept responsibility for such views. Front Cover: Front Cover: Edward William Elgar (1857-1934; Arthur Reynolds’ Archive) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882; Charles Kaufmann’s Archive). Notes for Contributors. Please adhere to these as far as possible if you deliver writing (as is much preferred) in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format. Copyright: it is the contributor’s responsibility to be reasonably sure that copyright permissions, if Cross against Corselet required, are obtained. Elgar, Longfellow, and the Saga of King Olaf Illustrations (pictures, short music examples) are welcome, but please ensure they are pertinent, cued into the text, and have captions. -
Musicweb International August 2020 RETROSPECTIVE SUMMER 2020
RETROSPECTIVE SUMMER 2020 By Brian Wilson The decision to axe the ‘Second Thoughts and Short Reviews’ feature left me with a vast array of part- written reviews, left unfinished after a colleague had got their thoughts online first, with not enough hours in the day to recast a full review in each case. This is an attempt to catch up. Even if in almost every case I find myself largely in agreement with the original review, a brief reminder of something you may have missed, with a slightly different slant, may be useful – and, occasionally, I may be raising a dissenting voice. Index [with page numbers] Malcolm ARNOLD Concerto for Organ and Orchestra – see Arthur BUTTERWORTH Johann Sebastian BACH Concertos for Harpsichord and Strings – Volume 1_BIS [2] Johann Sebastian BACH, Georg Philipp TELEMANN, Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH The Father, the Son and the Godfather_BIS [2] Sir Arnold BAX Morning Song ‘Maytime in Sussex’ – see RUBBRA Amy BEACH Piano Quintet (with ELGAR Piano Quintet)_Hyperion [9] Sir Arthur BLISS Piano Concerto in B-flat – see RUBBRA Benjamin BRITTEN Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, etc._Alto_Regis [15, 16] Arthur BUTTERWORTH Symphony No.1 (with Ruth GIPPS Symphony No.2, Malcolm ARNOLD Concerto for Organ and Orchestra)_Musical Concepts [16] Paul CORFIELD GODFREY Beren and Lúthien: Epic Scenes from the Silmarillion - Part Two_Prima Facie [17] Sir Edward ELGAR Symphony No.2_Decca [7] - Sea Pictures; Falstaff_Decca [6] - Falstaff; Cockaigne_Sony [7] - Sea Pictures; Alassio_Sony [7] - Violin Sonata (with Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Violin Sonata; The Lark Ascending)_Chandos [9] - Piano Quintet – see Amy BEACH Gerald FINZI Concerto for Clarinet and Strings – see VAUGHAN WILLIAMS [10] Ruth GIPPS Symphony No.2 – see Arthur BUTTERWORTH Alan GRAY Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in f minor – see STANFORD Modest MUSSORGSKY Pictures from an Exhibition (orch.