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The Cello Concerto No. 1 (also the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra) was written by Philip Glass in 2001. It was one of the first concerti of the twenty-first century. The piece was commissioned by William and Rebecca Krueger, friends of both the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and the conductor Yu Long in celebration of Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday and the first anniversary of Maestro Yu's China Philharmonic Orchestra. The work was premiered by Lloyd Webber with Long Yu conducting the China Philharmonic during the 2001 Beijing Music Festival, and attracted significant attention as the first time the work of a major western composer had its world premier in China. A typical performance takes about 30 minutes. The work is paired with the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra as part of Glass' Concerto Project , a series of collected concerti by the composer. The cello concerto is among the most famous of Glass' works for a solo instrument.
The work has noticeable "classical" (as Glass would describe his current musical style) elements in addition to minimalist ones; while it still projects many of the minimalist aspects which characterize Glass' music, it has audible differences, ushering a new look to composition in Glass' more recent musical approach.
The concerto is in the standard three movement form (this is notable because, as with the earlier Violin Concerto, Glass did not intend for the work to conform to conventional concerto structure as much as the piece simply developed that way). The three movements comply with the traditional fast-slow-fast tempo configuration.
The beginning movement opens with the cello directly introducing the first theme, a dark motif which would vary throughout the piece. The cello then exchanges bursts with the brass and returns to the original theme. We then hear a new, more placid melody, introduced by both the cello and orchestra. The movement progresses as the orchestra appears in full, developing into a fluid yet compact climax, interspersed with periodic cello arpeggios. After several minutes of intense orchestral involvement, the piece suddenly quietens and the second theme is eerily restated on the cello in very high register. The introductory material is then recapitulated by the woodwinds and triangle, with the cello providing a repeating undertone. The first movement closes softly and mysteriously.
The second movement is the concerto's calmest, punctuated by a soft, lyrical flute theme. The movement concludes in a similar manner to the first, with a dark, quiet close.
Abruptly, the third movement jolts into play with a short, unexpected burst of the brass, followed immediately by the cello stating the familiar opening theme from the first movement. Afterwards, the cello rises in volume until it unexpectedly fades and the orchestra takes over, progressing with repeating trumpets and rapid bass (not unlike the brass repetition of Mars, the Bringer of War in Holst's The Planets ); this builds into a climactic moment in the movement, an ecstatic, dance-like section with layered harmonies, punctuated by distant clangs of a bell. Afterward, the cello reappears and works with the orchestra until it returns to another crescendo, restating the first climax. Then, with the tambourine continuing the dance-like feel, the orchestra rises and falls, with the cello spiralling downward; the orchestra plays rapid, whirling notes until it reaches resolution. The ghostlike feel of the earlier movements forgotten, the work concludes with distinctive finality, a four-note bang similar to that of Rachmaninov's in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3.
Glass wrote the concerto to be performed first in Beijing. The piece was premiered at the Beijing Music Festival with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, with Lloyd Webber as soloist and Yu Long conducting, on October 21, 2001. The orchestra had been founded the year before and this concerto was the first work that it played by a major living composer. Glass could not attend the performance; in an interview, he revealed that he subsequently did not attend a playing of the concerto until six years after it premiered. It is relatively popular, but has had little time to attain the level of attention and analysis as some of Glass' earlier concerti or other large-scale symphonic works. However, listeners continue to increase.
The cello concerto was one of a series of eight concerti designated as part of The Concerto Project, started in 2000. The work was preceded by the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra (2000), the latter of which is paired with the cello concerto in the recording Project Vol. 1. Glass wrote the decisively neo-baroque Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra in 2002, and the Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis and Clark in 2004. Other parts of the series include the Concerto Grosso, the Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra and the Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra , often referred to as Piano Concerto No. 1. Note that the Violin Concerto No. 2 is not listed as part of the Project; it was written eight years after the cello concerto.
There are currently four volumes of the Project, with eight concerti indicated as members of the series.
Philip Glass is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive phrases and shifting layers. Glass describes himself as a composer of "music with repetitive structures", which he has helped evolve stylistically.
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display. During this time the accompaniment will rest, or sustain a note or chord. Thus an improvised cadenza is indicated in written notation by a fermata in all parts. A cadenza will usually occur over the final or penultimate note in a piece, the lead-in or over the final or penultimate note in an important subsection of a piece. It can also be found before a final coda or ritornello.
A concerto is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typical three-movement structure, a slow movement preceded and followed by fast movements, became a standard from the early 18th century.
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, in 1806. Its first performance by Franz Clement was unsuccessful and for some decades the work languished in obscurity, until revived in 1844 by the then 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim with the orchestra of the London Philharmonic Society conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Since then it has become one of the best-known violin concertos.
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist and conductor, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B♭ major, Op. 83, by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It took him three years to work on this concerto which indicates that he was always self-critical. He wrote to Clara Schumann: "I want to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo." Ironically, he was describing a huge piece. This concerto is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. The public premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on 9 November 1881, with Brahms as soloist and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and was an immediate success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe.
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, pianist, viola d'amore player and conductor, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, as well as composing music for the medal ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His works often incorporate audiovisual elements; use instruments constructed from organic materials, such as paper, water, and stone; and are often inspired by traditional Chinese theatrical and ritual performance. In 2013, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He has won numerous awards for his works, including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA award.
Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had already gone out of fashion with the concert-going public. In contrast with Elgar's earlier Violin Concerto, which is lyrical and passionate, the Cello Concerto is for the most part contemplative and elegiac.
The China Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China, on May 25, 2000, based on the previous "China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra". It is a division of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) of the People's Republic of China.
Richard Danielpour is an American composer.
Edward Gregson, is an English composer of instrumental and choral music, particularly for brass and wind bands and ensembles, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television. He was also principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.
Neil William Thomson is a British conductor and conducting professor.
Thomas M. Sleeper is a modern American composer and conductor. His music has been described as 'hauntingly mysterious' and 'richly lyrical'. He was the Director of Orchestral Activities and Conductor of the University of Miami Frost Symphony Orchestra until his retirement in 2018. He was also the director of the Florida Youth Orchestra from 1993 to 2020.
The Barjansky Stradivarius of c.1690 is an antique cello fabricated by the Italian Cremonese luthier Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737).
The Concerto Project is a collection of concerti written by Philip Glass. The series was begun in 2000 and contains eight works, the most famous of which is probably the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. Some of the concerti in the volumes were written before the commencement of the project and were categorized into the series.
The Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra is a double timpani concerto written by Philip Glass in 2000. It is paired with the Cello Concerto on Vol. I of Glass' Concerto Project, a set of eight concerti by the composer. A typical performance of the work lasts 25–28 minutes. It was written for Jonathan Haas and later recorded by Evelyn Glennie, and was premiered by Haas and Svet Stoyanov with the American Symphony Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, conducted by Leon Botstein. The work was commissioned jointly by the American Symphony Orchestra, the Peabody Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony. In 2004, a transcription for wind ensemble was written by Mark Lortz, which debuted at Peabody Institute in 2005.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 was written by Philip Glass in 2004. It is also called the Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis and Clark, due to its musical representation of the American pioneers. It was composed for the Nebraska Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission, the Lied Center for Performing Arts, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. It is included as one of the concerti in Glass' Concerto Project, a four-volume collection of commissioned works. The work itself deals with the journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, interpreting the stages of their expedition progressively in each movement.
The Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra was completed by Philip Glass in spring of 2002. It was commissioned for the Northwest Chamber Orchestra by Charles and Diana Carey and published by Dunvagen Music. Glass wrote the concerto with the Baroque tradition in mind; however, in order to approach the work in a modern idiom, he calls for a contemporary chamber orchestra to accompany the harpsichord. The concerto was premiered in September 2002 in Seattle, with David Schrader as soloist performing with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. It is approximately 20 minutes in length. The concerto was included in Glass' Concerto Project, a collection in four volumes.
The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) is an annual music festival held in Beijing which according to Chinaculture.org has become one of the most well-known musical events in the world, drawing international attention. According to Chinaculture.org the festival presents about 30 concerts in October every year offering a wide variety of classical and jazz music including opera, orchestral, chamber, solo, and choral concerts. BMF also gives prominence to music education and community engagement offering free children's concerts and students' concerts, as well as master classes which draw about 6,000 music students, teachers, and spectators. It prides itself in presenting both Western and Chinese music alike.