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Overture: Egmont op. 84
Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
In 1809, Beethoven received a commission
from the Burgtheater in Vienna. The theatre was staging
a new production of Goethe's play "Egmont"
and wanted incidental music for use in the performance.
Goethe's play is in 5 acts and is set during the Spanish
occupation of the Netherlands. Count Egmont is the focus
of his people's struggle for freedom, but he is arrested
and condemned to death. Klärchen, a young woman
who loves Egmont, tries but fails to incite the people
to rescue him. In despair, she poisons herself. Egmont
has a vision of freedom, but is finally led away to
be executed.
Beethoven composed a series of ten pieces - an overture,
four instrumental interludes, two songs for Klärchen,
a larghetto depicting her death, a melodrama depicting
Egmont's dream and a final 'Triumphal Symphony'. The
incidental music is seldom performed in its entirety,
but the magnificent overture has become a favourite
with audiences and players alike. The overture begins
in F minor with a slow introduction in which dramatic
chords are contrasted with a more lyrical theme in
the woodwind. The main Allegro is agitated in character,
and ends with a reappearance of the dramatic chords.
There is a brief quiet interlude with a series of
four pianissimo chords before the mood changes again
with the triumphant coda, now in F major, with its
fanfares signifying hope and freedom to the oppressed
people of the Netherlands.
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Piano concerto no.5 in E flat "Emperoro"
(Op.73)
Beethoven (1770-1827)
(Soloist - Katya Apekisheva)
1. Allegro
2. Adagio un poco mosso
3. Rondo: Allegro
Beethoven composed what was to be his
final piano concerto in 1809, shortly after having completed
his 5th and 6th symphonies. He was living in Vienna,
but it was not a particularly pleasant place to be at
the time - in May the city came under attack from Napoleon's
army and after an overnight artillery bombardment on
the 11th the city surrendered the following afternoon
and was occupied.
Beethoven had completed much of the concerto earlier
in the year, prior to the French invasion. However,
it's dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph - the youngest brother
of Emperor Franz, and both a pupil and patron of Beethoven
- had been forced to flee Vienna with the rest of the
imperial family shortly before the city was occupied.
Beethoven completed the concerto in his patron's absence,
but it was a further two years before it was first performed
- on 28th November 1811, in Leipzig.
The soloist on that occasion was Friederich Schneider
- Beethoven had by this time realised that his increasing
deafness would prevent him performing the concerto himself.
It had to wait until the following February before the
concerto was introduced in Vienna, this time with Carl
Czerny as soloist. It was not particularly well received
and was only performed once more - again by Czerny -
during Beethoven's lifetime.
Considering its dedicatee "The Archduke" might
have been a more appropriate name for the concerto than
"Emperor". The name has nothing to do with
the Archduke's brother, nor Napoleon whom Beethoven
had once admired sufficiently to consider dedicating
his third symphony to, before famously tearing up the
title page from the score saying : "He is no better
than other men. Now he too will trample on the rights
of man and indulge only his ambition." In fact
the origins of the name are still subject to some debate.
It is almost exclusively used in the English-speaking
world which perhaps supports the theory that it came
about as a result of the composer and pianist J. B.
Cramer supposedly describing it as "an emperor
among concertos".
The concerto certainly represents the pinnacle of
Beethoven's concerto achievements. It is grander than
its predecessors, perhaps a result of more modern
pianos becoming available which had a greater range
and flexibility than those for which he had previously
composed. The concerto opens with three orchestral
chords alternating with extended almost cadenza-like
passages. The orchestra then introduces the main theme
which establishes the dramatic character of the movement.
The Adagio provides a short interlude in the drama
- calm and serenely beautiful. The end of the movement
sees the quiet introduction of a new, more rhythmic
theme. This is suddenly transformed into the theme
of the finale - lively, energetic and full of dynamic
contrasts and cross rhythms. The piano and timpani
gradually relax the mood for a moment before the concerto
ends with a final energetic burst.
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Concerto for orchestra
Bartok (1881 - 1945)
1. Introduzione
2. Giuoco delle coppie
3. Elegia
4. Intermezzo interrotto
5. Finale
Béla Bartók was born
in Nagyszentmiklos in Hungary (now part of Romania).
His mother played the piano and gave Bartók his
first piano lessons. His father died in 1888 and the
family moved to Nagyszöllös where his mother
took up a teaching post. It was here that Bartók
produced his first compositions. He entered the Budapest
Academy of Music in 1899 and produced his first major
composition, the nationalistic tone poem "Kossuth",
in 1903. He also started touring abroad as a solo pianist.
In 1905, Bartók began collecting Hungarian folk
music and the following year he and fellow composer
Zoltan Kodály published a collection of 20 folk
songs. Over the next decade, Bartók continued
his travels collecting folk music, while also undertaking
the role of Professor of Piano at the Budapest Academy
of Music. He continued to compose, but his music was
generally not well received. The 1920s saw Bartók
resume his career as a concert pianist. In 1934, he
was given an appointment at the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences so that he could prepare his collection of
Hungarian folk music for publication. However, the developing
political situation in Hungary forced him to emigrate
to the USA in early 1940. Initially it was not a happy
time - he composed and performed little and was in poor
health. However, while ill in hospital, Bartók
received a visit from Serge Koussevitzky to commission
a work for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The result
was the "Concerto for Orchestra" which Bartók
completed in October 1943. It was to be the greatest
success of his career. Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony
Orchestra gave the first performance on 1st December
1944.
The Concerto's five movements form a 'compositional
arch' - a form of Bartók's own invention. The
composer himself described the piece in a programme
note : "The general mood of the work represents
- apart from the jesting second movement - a gradual
transition from the sternness of the first movement
and the lugubrious death-song of the third movement
to the life-assertion of the last one." The first
movement is largely melancholy. Entitled "Introduction",
it has itself a slow sombre introduction which leads
into the main section. "The Game of Couples"
is primarily based around five pairs of wind instruments
- bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes and muted trumpets
- each playing their own individual themes with each
pair of instruments playing a set interval (different
for each pair) apart. After a short brass chorale
the process is repeated, but with a variety of changes.
The "Elegy" is the centre of the 'arch'
and its mood of despair forms the concerto's emotional
heart. In the "Interrupted Intermezzo",
the first theme is introduced by the oboe and a second
is introduced by the violas. The 'interruption' to
the proceedings is a cheery little melody first played
by the clarinet before the whole orchestra joins in
the fun. Bartók told the conductor Antal Dorati
that this was a caricature of the much-repeated march
theme from Shostakovich's "Leningrad Symphony"
which was very popular at the time and getting, according
to Bartók, more attention than it merited.
Bartók mocks the theme with high wind and violins
and even raspberry-blowing trombones! The Finale is
a driving rondo. There are brief moments of respite
as the movement develops, but the onward momentum
persists. The final più presto sets off at
breakneck speed as the concerto rushes headlong to
its exhilarating conclusion. Fasten your seatbelts!
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