| VIOLIN CELLO CONCERTO CLICK HERE to return to the Section on Elgar's Major Works for Orchestra CLICK HERE to return to the Edward Elgar Home Page Note: If you live in the UK and wish to purchase some of the recordings discussed in this section, I've provided links to Amazon UK for specific recordings. If you live in the USA, go to Amazon.com or , two excellent sources for CDs. VIOLIN CONCERTO IN B MINOR, OP. 61 Duration: 50 minutes Introduction This concerto, written at the peak of Elgar's career, carries on the tradition of Beethoven and Brahms, as noted above. Like both of those composers' violin concerti, it is long, with an expansive opening movement cast in traditional form (sonata form, including a lengthy opening orchestral exposition of the themes before the soloist enters); the slow movement is quiet and songful, but rises to an impassioned climax; and the finale ends with a very positive affirmation. Structurally, Elgar's finale is innovative: at its heart is a (very) long cadenza which looks back nostalgically to themes heard earlier in the work, and which features a unique orchestral accompaniment utilizing a strummed pizzicato. As with the Beethoven and Brahms concerti, it requires not only a top-drawer soloist, but also a top-rank conductor to hold the long work together and keep it from rambling. And, as with those concerti, there are no glitzy emotional outbursts to carry the work along. For the first-time listener, the stumbling block to the violin concerto is that long cadenza in the finalelonger than just about any other cadenza in the concerto repertoire. At first hearing, it may seem TOO long, holding up the forward momentum of the piece. Upon repeated hearing, however, it becomes apparent what Elgar is up to: he has integrated the cadenza structurally into the piece so that it is no longer merely a solo showpiece essentially unrelated to the rest of the concerto. Instead, it becomes the emotional and structural climax of the whole work. Here Elgar has the soloist nostalgically reflect on themes from earlier in the work, tying them all together in a final meditation, before the dash to the finish line that ends the concerto. However, the cadenza is certainly demanding on the soloist, as he has to hold the stage and sustain interest for such an extended stretch of music. | |
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