The Concerto no. 4 for Violin and Orchestra is a violin concerto by Soviet and German composer Alfred Schnittke. It was commissioned by the 34th Berlin Festival and written in 1984. Its first performance was given in Berlin on 11 September 1984 with dedicatee Gidon Kremer as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. [1]
The concerto is scored for solo violin and an orchestra of:
3 flutes (no. 3 doubling alto flute), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets in B♭ (no. 3 doubling bass clarinet in B♭), alto saxophone in E♭, 3 bassoons (no. 3 doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns in F, 4 trumpets in B♭, 4 trombones, contrabass tuba, percussion (6 players), harp, celesta, harpsichord, prepared piano, and strings.
The movements are as follows:
A performance typically lasts approximately 35 minutes.
The concerto focuses its musical material on a monogram derived from the name of its dedicatee.
Thus, in the opening movement, the first four notes (bars 1 and 2) on bells and prepared piano spell out, in Anglo-Saxon and Tonic sol-fa music letter notation the note names G – C (Do in Tonic sol-fa) – D (Re in Tonic sol-fa) – E, corresponding to G i Do n K Re m E r. The next four notes (bars 4 and 5), on the same instruments, spell out Gidon Kremer in a different way, using Anglo-Saxon letter notation only, thus G - D - E - E (an octave lower) for G i D on Kr E m E r. These eight notes provide the principle theme ("Kremer theme") for the first movement and re-appear elsewhere in the concerto, particularly the final movement. Schnittke uses a similar technique to include a musical monogram of his own name: A – F – E – D – S – C – H – E (in German notation S corresponds to E♭ and H corresponds to B♮) in the music of this movement.
The first movement is largely based on alternations between the Kremer theme and another warmer theme, introduced immediately after the Kremer theme's first appearance by woodwinds and horn, played initially in A♭ major before shifting towards a darker C♯ minor.
The second movement, marked Vivo (lively), contrasts strongly with the first. It begins with the solo violin playing a moto perpetuo theme and then taking up a more lyrical melody. The soloist's role gradually thins out until Schnittke instructs them to perform a cadenza visuale, a "visual cadenza" in which they mime playing a cadenza but without actually producing any sound.
The third movement begins in almost Baroque territory with the solo violin being accompanied by a chamber music group including harpsichord. This is soon and repeatedly interrupted by strident repetitions of themes from movements one and two.
The finale consists of recollections of music from the previous three movements, as if summarising and commenting on what has preceded. Schnittke also weaves in musical monograms of fellow composers Edison Denisov, Sofia Gubaidulina and Arvo Pärt. [1] At the climax of the movement there is a second cadenza visuale before the concerto closes quietly with a repetition of the Kremer theme.
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.
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.
The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, was composed by Johannes Brahms in 1878 and dedicated to his friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim. It is Brahms's only violin concerto, and, according to Joachim, one of the four great German violin concerti:
The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven's. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart's jewel, is Mendelssohn's.
The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, was written by Jean Sibelius in 1904, revised in 1905. It is his only concerto. It is symphonic in scope, with the solo violin and all sections of the orchestra being equal voices. An extended cadenza for the soloist takes on the role of the development section in the first movement.
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 is generally thought to have been composed in 1800, although the year of its composition has been questioned by some contemporary musicologists. It was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also premiered. The composition was published in 1804, and was dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The first primary theme is reminiscent of that of Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto.
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last large orchestral work. It holds an important place in the violin repertoire and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos in history. A typical performance lasts just under half an hour.
Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, was written in October 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. It consists of three movements, in a fast–slow–fast succession:
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806. Beethoven was the soloist in the public premiere as part of the concert on 22 December 1808 at Vienna's Theater an der Wien.
The keyboard concertos, BWV 1052–1065, are concertos for harpsichord, strings and continuo by Johann Sebastian Bach. There are seven complete concertos for a single harpsichord, three concertos for two harpsichords, two concertos for three harpsichords, and one concerto for four harpsichords. Two other concertos include solo harpsichord parts: the concerto BWV 1044, which has solo parts for harpsichord, violin and flute, and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, with the same scoring. In addition, there is a nine-bar concerto fragment for harpsichord which adds an oboe to the strings and continuo.
Tabula Rasa is a musical composition written in 1977 by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The piece contains two movements, "Ludus" and "Silentium," and is a double concerto for two solo violins, prepared piano, and chamber orchestra.
Carl Maria von Weber wrote his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 for the clarinettist Heinrich Bärmann in 1811. The piece is highly regarded in the instrument's repertoire. It is written for clarinet in B♭. The work consists of three movements in the form of fast, slow, fast.
Philip Glass' Violin Concerto No. 1 was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra for soloist Paul Zukofsky and premiered in New York City on 5 April 1987. The work was composed with Glass's late father in mind. The piece quickly became one of Glass's most popular works. It is usually around 25–30 minutes in duration when performed.
Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15, was written from 1938 to 1939 and dedicated to Henry Boys, his former teacher at the Royal College of Music. It was premiered in New York, on 29 March 1940 by the Spanish violinist Antonio Brosa with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli. A revised version of the concerto appeared in the 1950s, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian.
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 polystylistic compositions and marked his break-through in the West.
The Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Strings in D minor, MWV O4, also known as the Double Concerto in D minor, was written in 1823 by Felix Mendelssohn when he was 14 years old. This piece is Mendelssohn's fourth work for a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment, preceded by a Largo and Allegro in D minor for Piano and Strings MWV O1, the Piano Concerto in A Minor MWV O2, and the Violin Concerto in D minor MWV O3. Mendelssohn composed the work to be performed for a private concert on May 25, 1823 at the Mendelssohn home in Berlin with his violin teacher and friend, Eduard Rietz. Following this private performance, Mendelssohn revised the scoring, adding winds and timpani and is possibly the first work in which Mendelssohn used winds and timpani in a large work. A public performance was given on July 3, 1823 at the Berlin Schauspielhaus. Like the A minor piano concerto (1822), it remained unpublished during Mendelssohn's lifetime and it wasn't until 1999 when a critical edition of the piece was available.
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his fifth Brandenburg Concerto, BWV 1050.2, for harpsichord, flute and violin as soloists, and an orchestral accompaniment consisting of strings and continuo. An early version of the concerto, BWV 1050.1, originated in the late 1710s. On 24 March 1721 Bach dedicated the final form of the concerto to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg.
The Concerto for Viola and Orchestra is a viola concerto by Soviet and German composer Alfred Schnittke. It was written in the summer of 1985. Its dedicatee is viola player Yuri Bashmet, who gave the work its world premiere with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Lukas Vis at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on 9 January 1986.
Russian composer Alfred Schnittke's Symphony No. 8 was composed in 1994. Its dedicatee Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in the symphony's premiere in Stockholm on 10 November 1994.
Alfred Schnittke composed his Concerto Grosso No. 3 for two violins, harpsichord, piano, and celesta in 1985.
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