May 6, 2013. Brahms, Tchaikovsky – and Stamitz. Two great composers of the 19th century were born on May 7: Johannes Brahms in 1833, and Pyotr (or Peter Ilyich, as by some twist of linguistic fate he became known in the English-speaking world) Tchaikovsky seven years later. Last year to celebrate their birthdays we played their first piano concertos (Brahms wrote two, both great; Tchaikovsky – three, but only the first one remains popular, and for good reason). This time we’ll turn to their violin concertos. Brahms wrote his first and only violin concerto, Op. 77 in D Major, in 1878. It was dedicated to Joseph Joachim, Brahms’s friend and one of the most prominent violinists of the 19th century. Joachim premiered the concerto the same year in Leipzig, in a concert that also featured Beethoven’s violin concerto. Brahms himself conducted the Gewandhaus orchestra. Joachim composed the cadenza, which is the version we’ll hear, in the performance by the violinist Vadim Gluzman, with Saarbrücken Radio Symphony, Günther Herbig conducting.
As it happens, Tchaikovsky also wrote his violin concerto, Op. 35, also in D Major ,and also in 1878. He was staying in Clarens, a small village not far from Montreux on Lake Geneva, recovering from his disastrous marriage to Antonina Milyukova. (Clarens had a number of connections with Russia: Stravinsky lived and wrote most of the Rite of Spring in Clarens in 1912, and later, in 1920, while there, wrote another ballet, Pulcinella. Vladimir Nabokov is buried in Clarens). Tchaikovsky dedicated his concerto to the famous violin teacher Leopold Auer, expecting him to play the premier. But Auer, who read the score presented by the composer, decided that he didn’t like the concerto and refused to perform it. Tchaikovsky was deeply hurt. The work was eventually premiered in Vienna by Adolph Brodsky, and Tchaikovsky changed the dedication to him. The concerto was rather poorly received; Eduard Hanslick, an influential critic and big supporter of Brahms, called it “pretentious.” Perceptions changed quickly, however, and since then Tchaikovsky’s concerto has become one of the most popular in the violin repertoire. We’ll hear it in the performance by Julia Fischer; Yakov Kreizberg conducts the Russian National Orchestra. Kreizberg, the brother of another famous conductor, Semyon Bychkov, died at the age of 51 in 2011, five years after this recording was made.
Carl Stamitz is not as famous as either Brahms or Tchaikovsky, and deservedly so. Still, he wrote some very nice music, and probably more clarinet concertos than any other composer - eleven in all. Stamitz was born on May 8, 1745, in Mannheim. His father, Johann, a noted composer and violinist, was appointed to the court of the Elector several years earlier, and was Carl’s first music teacher. The Elector maintained an orchestra that was famous around Europe; Carl joined it at the age of 17. Among the court musicians there were a number of composers, who are now collectively known as Mannheim School. While not very famous nowadays, these composers, and Carl Stamitz among them, influenced both Franz Joseph Haydn and Mozart. In 1770 Carl left the orchestra and began a career of a traveling virtuoso: he played violin, viola, and viola d'amore (Carl eventually wrote several works for this instrument). He traveled all around Europe, playing concerts in Paris, London, Saint Petersburg, and many principalities of Germany. Eventually he moved to Jena, and died there, impoverished, in 1801. It’s said that in his last years his interests turned to alchemy. Stamitz’s Viola concerto was written in 1774. A lovely piece, it’s performed here by the German violist Tabea Zimmermann, with the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Dimitri Demetriades conducting.
Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stamitz 2013
May 6, 2013. Brahms, Tchaikovsky – and Stamitz. Two great composers of the 19th century were born on May 7: Johannes Brahms in 1833, and Pyotr (or Peter Ilyich, as by some twist of linguistic fate he became known in the English-speaking world) Tchaikovsky seven years later. Last year to celebrate their birthdays we played their first piano concertos (Brahms wrote two, both great; Tchaikovsky – three, but only the first one remains popular, and for good reason). This time we’ll turn to their violin concertos. Brahms wrote his first and only violin concerto, Op. 77 in D Major, in 1878. It was dedicated to Joseph Joachim, Brahms’s friend and one of the most prominent violinists of the 19th century. Joachim premiered the concerto the same year in Leipzig, in a concert that also featured Beethoven’s violin concerto. Brahms himself conducted the Gewandhaus orchestra. Joachim composed the cadenza, which is the version we’ll hear, in the performance by the violinist Vadim Gluzman, with Saarbrücken Radio Symphony, Günther Herbig conducting.
As it happens, Tchaikovsky also wrote his violin concerto, Op. 35, also in D Major ,and also in 1878. He was staying in Clarens, a small village not far from Montreux on Lake Geneva, recovering from his disastrous marriage to Antonina Milyukova. (Clarens had a number of connections with Russia: Stravinsky lived and wrote most of the Rite of Spring in Clarens in 1912, and later, in 1920, while there, wrote another ballet, Pulcinella. Vladimir Nabokov is buried in Clarens). Tchaikovsky dedicated his concerto to the famous violin teacher Leopold Auer, expecting him to play the premier. But Auer, who read the score presented by the composer, decided that he didn’t like the concerto and refused to perform it. Tchaikovsky was deeply hurt. The work was eventually premiered in Vienna by Adolph Brodsky, and Tchaikovsky changed the dedication to him. The concerto was rather poorly received; Eduard Hanslick, an influential critic and big supporter of Brahms, called it “pretentious.” Perceptions changed quickly, however, and since then Tchaikovsky’s concerto has become one of the most popular in the violin repertoire. We’ll hear it in the performance by Julia Fischer; Yakov Kreizberg conducts the Russian National Orchestra. Kreizberg, the brother of another famous conductor, Semyon Bychkov, died at the age of 51 in 2011, five years after this recording was made.
Carl Stamitz is not as famous as either Brahms or Tchaikovsky, and deservedly so. Still, he wrote some very nice music, and probably more clarinet concertos than any other composer - eleven in all. Stamitz was born on May 8, 1745, in Mannheim. His father, Johann, a noted composer and violinist, was appointed to the court of the Elector several years earlier, and was Carl’s first music teacher. The Elector maintained an orchestra that was famous around Europe; Carl joined it at the age of 17. Among the court musicians there were a number of composers, who are now collectively known as Mannheim School. While not very famous nowadays, these composers, and Carl Stamitz among them, influenced both Franz Joseph Haydn and Mozart. In 1770 Carl left the orchestra and began a career of a traveling virtuoso: he played violin, viola, and viola d'amore (Carl eventually wrote several works for this instrument). He traveled all around Europe, playing concerts in Paris, London, Saint Petersburg, and many principalities of Germany. Eventually he moved to Jena, and died there, impoverished, in 1801. It’s said that in his last years his interests turned to alchemy. Stamitz’s Viola concerto was written in 1774. A lovely piece, it’s performed here by the German violist Tabea Zimmermann, with the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Dimitri Demetriades conducting.