Double Concerto (Previn)

Last updated March 25, 2019

The Double Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, and Orchestra is a 2014 composition by the German-American composer André Previn. The work was co-commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Linton Music with financial support from Ann and Harry Santen. It was additionally commissioned by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Kansas City Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere was given by the husband/wife duo of the violinist Jaime Laredo and the cellist Sharon Robinson with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Louis Langrée in Cincinnati on November 21, 2014. The concerto is dedicated to Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson.^[1]^[2]

André George Previn, was a German-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives 'pops' concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cincinnati Symphony is the resident orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, the Cincinnati Opera, and the Cincinnati Ballet.

Linton Chamber Music Series is a presenter of chamber music and educational concerts based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Composition

The concerto has a duration of roughly 20 minutes and is composed in three numbered movements cast in the standard fast–slow–fast form.

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession. A movement is a section, "a major structural unit perceived as the result of the coincidence of relatively large numbers of structural phenomena".

A unit of a larger work that may stand by itself as a complete composition. Such divisions are usually self-contained. Most often the sequence of movements is arranged fast-slow-fast or in some other order that provides contrast.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a solo violin and cello and an orchestra consisting of three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings.^[1]

The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused. The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings, though it can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow.

The cello ( CHEL-oh; plural cellos or celli) or violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh; Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]) is a string instrument. It is played by bowing or plucking its four strings, which are usually tuned in perfect fifths an octave lower than the viola: from low to high, C₂, G₂, D₃ and A₃. It is the bass member of the violin family, which also includes the violin, viola and the double bass, which doubles the bass line an octave lower than the cello in much of the orchestral repertoire. After the double bass, it is the second-largest and second lowest (in pitch) bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The cello is used as a solo instrument, as well as in chamber music ensembles (e.g., string quartet), string orchestras, as a member of the string section of symphony orchestras, most modern Chinese orchestras, and some types of rock bands.

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which mixes instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as brass instruments such as trumpet, trombone and tuba, woodwinds such as flutes, oboe and bassoon and percussion instruments such as the triangle,snare drum and cymbals, each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.

Reception

The concerto has been praised by musicians and critics alike. Reviewing the world premiere, Janelle Gelfand of The Cincinnati Enquirer opined, "Sophisticated and well-crafted, Previn's new work [...] is a terrific addition to the double concerto repertoire." She added, "The heart of the concerto was the slow movement, where Previn's gift for melody was on display. Here the soloists performed its romantic theme seamlessly, and with beauty of phrasing. The movement included a soaring melody for the strings and evocative writing for horns and winds. The finale was bright, syncopated and witty, and sometimes reminiscent of Bernstein. Laredo and Robinson brought it to a stirring conclusion with deeply expressive dialogue."^[3] Libby Hanssen of The Kansas City Star said the work "leapt and crackled with unexpected colors and design" and wrote:

The Cincinnati Enquirer is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the Enquirer is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, although the daily Journal-News competes with the Enquirer in the northern suburbs. The Enquirer has the highest circulation of any print publication in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. A daily local edition for Northern Kentucky is published as The Kentucky Enquirer.

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history."

The Kansas City Star is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. The Star is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry Truman and as the newspaper where a young Ernest Hemingway honed his writing style. It was also central to government-mandated divestiture of radio and television outlets by newspaper concerns in the late 1950s.

The thematic material of the first movement had a mercurial quality, starting angular then suddenly turning grandiose, with pockets of romanticism and more familiar-sounding resolutions. Frequent, fast tempo meter changes created evident concern for the orchestra, though the soloists’ virtuosity persevered. The second movement ("Slow") had a lovely sepia-toned quality, as though from another era, with a gorgeous simultaneous statement from the soloists. The pastiche effect returned in the final movement with aggressive strikes from brass and percussion, playful cello line and triumphant strings, culminating in a reverberant final chord.^[4]

The dedicatees Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson also praised the work, particularly the second movement. Laredo referred to it as "gorgeous" and "ravishing," while Robinson said, "It's a real gift, this movement. I think it's just so beautiful."^[5]

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The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance was awarded from 1959 to 2011. From 1967 to 1971 and in 1987 the award was combined with the award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and awarded as the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Soloists.

Richard Danielpour is an American composer.

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A double concerto refers to two distinct variations on the concerto. Most often, it refers to a concerto featuring two performers, as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. These two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's, Concerto for Two Violins, or different, as in Brahms's Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra.

The Kalichstein–Laredo–Robinson Trio is an American piano trio consisting of violinist Jaime Laredo, cellist Sharon Robinson, and pianist Joseph Kalichstein. The trio is one of the longest-lasting chamber ensembles with all of its original members, having debuted in 1977 at the inauguration of president Jimmy Carter. In 2001 it was named by Musical America as Ensemble of the Year, and in 2011 it was awarded the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artists Award from The Classical Recording Foundation. In the 2003-2004 season, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts appointed Kalichstein–Laredo–Robinson Ensemble in Residence. The trio is widely regarded as perhaps the most seminal piano trio performing today, and are noted for the high quality of their interpretations of the trio repertoire.

The Concerto Grosso No. 1 was the first of six concerti grossi by Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke. It was written in 1976–1977 at the request of Gidon Kremer and Tatiana Grindenko who were also the violin soloists at its premiere on 21 March 1977 in Leningrad together with Yuri Smirnov on keyboard instruments and the Leningrad Chamber Orchestra under Eri Klas. It is one of the best-known of Schnittke’s polystilistic compositions and marked his break-through in the West.

Heimdall's Trumpet is a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its principal trumpeter Christopher Martin. The piece was completed January 21, 2012 and premiered December 20, 2012 at Symphony Center in Chicago.

The Double Concerto for Violin and Cello is a double concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra by the American composer John Harbison. The work was commissioned by the Friends of Dresden Music Foundation for the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor James Levine. It was given its world premiere on April 8, 2010 by the spousal team of the violinist Mira Wang and the cellist Jan Vogler and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Carlos Kalmar. The piece was composed in honor of the violinist Roman Totenberg.

The Double Concerto is a composition for violin, cello, and orchestra by the American composer Ned Rorem. The work was commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and composed between July 27, 1997 and April 1998. It was composed for the violinist Jaime Laredo and the cellist Sharon Robinson, who first performed the piece with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard in Indianapolis on October 15, 1998.

The Concerto for Cello and Orchestra is a cello concerto by György Ligeti written in 1966. It is dedicated to cellist Siegfried Palm, who gave the concerto its premiere performance.

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "Anne-Sophie" is a violin concerto by André Previn. It was composed in 2001 by request of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Anne-Sophie Mutter. Previn conducted the first performance in March 2002 in Boston. The same performers recorded the work in 2003, and received a Grammy Award for it in 2005.

References

1 2 Previn, André (2014). "Double Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, and Orchestra". G. Schirmer Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
↑ Gelfand, Janelle (November 16, 2014). "André Previn's Double Concerto to have CSO premiere". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved May 29, 2016.
↑ Gelfand, Janelle (November 22, 2014). "Double Concerto by Andre Previn impresses CSO audience". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved May 29, 2016.
↑ Hanssen, Libby (January 17, 2015). "Kansas City Symphony brings gusto to premiere of Previn Double Concerto". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved May 29, 2016.
↑ Mangan, Timothy (May 24, 2015). "Andre Previn to visit Orange County for the Pacific Symphony's American Composers Festival". Orange County Register . Retrieved May 29, 2016.

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[Score-1] 1 2 Previn, André (2014). "Double Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, and Orchestra". G. Schirmer Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2016.

[2] Gelfand, Janelle (November 16, 2014). "André Previn's Double Concerto to have CSO premiere". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved May 29, 2016.

[3] Gelfand, Janelle (November 22, 2014). "Double Concerto by Andre Previn impresses CSO audience". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved May 29, 2016.

[4] Hanssen, Libby (January 17, 2015). "Kansas City Symphony brings gusto to premiere of Previn Double Concerto". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved May 29, 2016.

[5] Mangan, Timothy (May 24, 2015). "Andre Previn to visit Orange County for the Pacific Symphony's American Composers Festival". Orange County Register . Retrieved May 29, 2016.