Violin Concerto (Bates)

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The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. It was premiered December 7, 2012, with Meyers and the Pittsburgh Symphony performing under conductor Leonard Slatkin. [1] [2]

Concerto musical composition usually in three parts

A concerto is a musical composition generally composed of three movements, in which, usually, one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. It is accepted that its characteristics and definition have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, as reflected by J. S. Bach's usage of the title "concerto" for many of the works that we know as cantatas.

Violin bowed string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths

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.

Orchestra large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass, brass instruments such as the horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba, woodwinds such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and percussion instruments such as the timpani, bass drum, 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.

Contents

Structure

The Violin Concerto has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in three continuous movements: [3]

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.

  1. Archaeopteryx
  2. Lakebed Memories
  3. The Rise of the Birds

Composition

Background

The Pittsburgh Symphony commissioned Bates's Violin Concerto at the behest of a recommendation from composer John Adams and principal guest conductor Leonard Slatkin. Slatkin had previously led the orchestra in a performance of Bates's Liquid Interface and lauded Bates to the symphony's vice president Bob Moir as a "terrific young composer." [2] Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers had also sought a commission from Bates, remarking before the work's premiere:

John Adams (composer) American composer

John Coolidge Adams is an American composer, clarinetist, and conductor of classical music and opera, with strong roots in minimalism.

I've known Mason for several years. I've done some concerts where he was the DJ, so I've seen him in action that way. I asked him to write cadenzas in Beethoven's Concerto for a performance in Holland, and I always wanted a concerto from him. I thought he would write something dynamic and exciting. A couple of years ago, I really got on his tail, harassing him until he agreed. [2]

Bates later spoke of the experience, saying, "I've written a lot for strings in the orchestra, but writing for solo violin is completely different. It was like writing a one-person play in a language you don't speak. It was very intimidating at first." [4] The piece was completed in the summer of 2012, with Meyers remarking, "we were changing things right and left—it was definitely an evolution." [4]

Style

Bates described the style of the piece in the score program notes, writing:

Composers paint with sound, and my sonic palette has been growing rapidly in large-scale symphonies fusing orchestral and electronic sounds. But the pops, clicks and thuds of techno present challenges in a violin concerto: the subtle textures of this eighteen-inch instrument would be quickly painted over by the powerful colors of such a big palette. So, in order to fully showcase the violin, I stepped back into the acoustic universe—but with my ears still humming with exotic sounds. [3]

Instrumentation

The piece is scored for solo violin and orchestra comprising two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), two oboes (2nd doubling English horn), two clarinets in B-flat (2nd doubling bass clarinet), two bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), four French horns, four trumpets in C, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, three percussionists, timpani, piano, harp, and strings. [3]

Western concert flute transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood

The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter.

Piccolo small musical instrument of the flute family

The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The modern piccolo has most of the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written. This gave rise to the name ottavino, which the instrument is called in the scores of Italian composers. It is also called flauto piccolo or flautino.

Oboe musical instrument of the woodwind family

Oboes belong to the classification of double reed woodwind instruments. Oboes are usually made of wood, but there are also oboes made of synthetic materials. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A soprano oboe measures roughly 65 cm long, with metal keys, a conical bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word oboe is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais, or oboe d'amore

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Mark Kanny of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review praised the Violin Concerto, saying, "The outer movements are high-energy excursions, driven by the composer's gifts for inventive rhythms, lyrical inspiration and a combination of moment-to-moment persuasiveness and feeling of formal satisfaction." [5] Andrew Druckenbrod of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lauded the work for having "more than a few exhilarating moments," but criticized Bates for limiting his ambition, remarking, "I am not begrudging Mr. Bates from going where his muse takes him. But I am concerned that the pull of tradition may be tugging on him, making him feel he needs to prove himself as a 'real' composer." Druckenbrod nevertheless said, "Despite the ambitious program of the work [...] there were some compelling musical moments." [6] John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune also praised the work, writing, "If Bates' big tune smacks of the Hollywood cornfields, he won me over when the fiddle engaged in dreamy dialogues with the percussion in the middle movement, and again when the violin soared in glimmering arcs high above the full orchestra in the finale." [7] John Pitcher of ArtsNash said:

<i>Pittsburgh Tribune-Review</i> newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it remains the second largest daily in the state, amassing nearly one million unique page views a month. Founded on August 22, 1811, as the Greensburg Gazette and in 1889 consolidated with several papers into the Greensburg Tribune-Review, the paper circulated only in the eastern suburban counties of Westmoreland and parts of Indiana and Fayette until May 1992, when it began serving all of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area after a strike at the two Pittsburgh dailies, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Press, deprived the city of a newspaper for several months.

<i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It has won six Pulitzer Prizes since 1938.

<i>Chicago Tribune</i> major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It is the eighth-largest newspaper in the United States by circulation.

There’s much to admire in the new concerto. Bates loads the work with interesting effects that seem both primeval and contemporary at the same time. For instance, in the opening of the piece, he calls on the bassists and cellists to tap their instruments with their hands. The sound could be primitive percussion, or the beat of a DJ’s drum machine. This primordial opening eventually gives way to a few drop-dead gorgeous melodies. [8]

Pitcher added, "Unfortunately, these melodies often come across as little more than beautiful moments in an otherwise tedious half-hour. Melodies in the concerto frequently meander without a sense of purpose or destination. The work’s musical argument is likewise loose, sometimes amounting to nothing more than slow sections following fast sections." However, Pitcher ultimately praised the solo writing and referred to the piece asan "important" work. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Kanny, Mark (February 9, 2012). "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 season packed with premieres". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Kanny, Mark (December 5, 2012). "Slatkin, PSO champion Mason Bates' Violin Concerto". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Bates, Mason (2012). Violin Concerto: Program Note. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Delacoma, Wynne (April 14, 2014). "Anne Akiko Meyers eager to tackle Mason Bates Violin Concerto with CSO". Chicago Classical Review. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Kanny, Mark (December 8, 2012). "PSO, conductor in top form for trio of compositions". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  6. ↑ Druckenbrod, Andrew (December 8, 2012). "Review: PSO composer of year's premiere has its moments but falls short as full acoustic work". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Rhein, John von (April 18, 2014). "Review: Leonard Slatkin conducts the CSO". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Pitcher, John (March 1, 2013). "Classical review: Nashville Symphony takes Mason Bates' new Violin Concerto out for a spin". ArtsNash. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
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