Violin Concerto of Beethoven in D Major

https://youtu.be/f8yZu9tSX7E Ludwig van Beethoven composed his D Major Violin Concerto in 1806. It was published as Opus 61. He wrote it with his violinist friend, Franz Clement, in mind. Clement gave its premiere performance on 23rd December 1806 in the Theater An Der Wien as part of a benefit concert for himself. It was a failure as, surprisingly, the audience was not so interested in it. Part of the failure was attributed to the fact that Beethoven finished writing the solo part very late and Clement had to do sight reading for most of his performance. Also, Clement interrupted the concerto between the first and the second movement with a solo composition of his own which he played on just one string of the violin, holding it upside down. I would venture to guess that it was the first violin concerto that could be deemed as solemnly serious and demanding of spiritual attention and the mass was not ready for it. I feel that they may have been flummoxed by the length and the breadth of the movements with their serious messages. This great violin concerto was pushed into obscurity during Beethoven’s lifetime and it was only revived in 1844 by Joseph Joachim who played it under Mendelssohn with the London Philharmonic. It was finally accepted and since then, it has remained as one of the widely performed in the violin repertoire. Prior to 1806, Beethoven had written numerous compositions for violin and orchestra. He had written two Romances for violin and orchestra in F Major and G Major. In 1792, he even contemplated writing a concerto for violin in C Major. A fragment of its first movement had survived but lost after his death in 1827. It was never completed nor published. Many musical critics have explained that the opening of the first movement in martial style with the timpani beat was an influence of the French style at that time, exemplified by Pierre Rode. The broken sixth and the broken octaves that follow the timpani beats are representative of the style of music written by Kreutzer and Giovanni Viotti. As a result of the failure of the concerto during its initial performance, Muzio Clementi advised Beethoven to revise the concerto and produce a version for pianoforte and orchestra and the result was the Opus 61A creation. The concerto is made up of three movements – Allegro ma non troppo in D Major > Larghetto in G Major > Rondo/Allegro in D Major. It is scored for a solo violin, flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, strings and timpani. Besides Beethoven’s cadenzas for the first and the third movements, other violinists who have written their own cadenzas are Joseph Joachim and Fritz Kreisler. Alfred Schnittke has written cadenzas with a modern flavour. The format of the first movement is one of the greatest examples that could be given of the sonata structure during Beethoven’s creative second period. You have to be aware of the fact that the length of this movement is as long as the full concertos or symphonies of Haydn and Mozart. Beethoven articulates every theme and gives it a distinct character. The importance of every theme could be grasped as soon as it is presented. He develops the movement material from a simple six-motif combination of A, B, C, D, E and F. He has created one of the most sublime compositions with this movement in the history of concerto music. You can say that this movement is a fine example of how to achieve an ideal equilibrium in compositions.

Beethoven Archduke Piano Trio No. 7 in B Flat Major

https://youtu.be/Nl8H9_7y7-g The Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, by Ludwig van Beethoven is a trio for piano, violin, and cello. It was composed in 1811.It belongs to Beethoven's middle period of creativity. It is called `Archduke' as it was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, the youngest of twelve children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolf was an amateur pianist and a patron student of Beethoven. He has eceived a total of fourteen composition dedications from Beethoven. The work is in four movements: Allegro Moderato/ Scherzo (Allegro)/ Andante cantabile ma però con moto - Poco Piu Adagio/ Allegro Moderato – Presto.

The Dark Mirror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm-TDYFrrRI The Twin Face of Good and Evil This is a psychological thriller made by Robert Siodmak in 1946. It features Olivia de Havilland playing a double role as twins (Terry and Ruth Collins) and Lew Ayres playing a psychiatrist. A doctor is murdered and Lieutenant Stevenson played by Thomas Mitchell questions Terry who has been seeing the doctor, sensing that she may be keeping some secret from him. He faces a challenge when he meets her identical twin sister (Ruth). The biggest puzzle is presented when the sisters start to pose as each other. It is certain that one of the twins has committed the murder but no one knows who the psychotic one is. The sister who is suspected provides genuine alibis while the one who looks mild does not have an alibi. This was a favourite theme in Hollywood in the nineteen forties. Directors latched on to the Freudian concept of the good and evil twins. This is one of Olivia de Havilland’s best performances after `Gone with the Wind’. It is very likely that she has drawn on her own rivalry with her real life sister, Joan Fontaine. This is a great thriller. Watch it. You will be kept on your seats by the great score given by Dimitri Tiomkin and Frank Skinner.

My Favourite Swan Lake Performance

https://youtu.be/OQvISdUX9kE For Swan Lake, this was an ideal partnership and I have not seen a better performance of this ballet anywhere, ever since. Swan Lake remained a special ballet in the career of Rudolf Nureyev. He danced in the role of Prince Siegfried in 1963 with the Royal Ballet and that production was staged by Nicholas Sergeyev who was the former stage manager of the Maryinsky Theatre. Nureyev gave the role his own identity. He redefined this character by going against the boring and colourless interpretations. Thanks to Nureyev, the male dancer in this ballet now became the equal of the female star. Margot Fonteyn was his perfect match and he danced with her first in 1963 at the Champs Elysees Theatre in Paris.Nureyev has imposed not only is charisma and his skills throughout his career in numerous versions of Swan Lake but he has also danced on some occasions in the role of evil Rothbart, the sorcerer. My favourite performance is with the Vienna Opera dancers and Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John Lanchbery. Fonteyn and Nureyev created the original choreography of Le Lac Des Cygnes under the direction of Nureyev with costumes and decors done by Nicholas Georgiadis. This film was captured by Unitel in 1964 and the production became an artistic mega event. At the final performance of the premier in Vienna, Fonteyn and Nureyev received eighty nine curtain calls and this is the highest number that has ever been taken, anywhere.

Snegurochka

The Snow Maiden by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/mQdNl64u_14 Russian State Orchestra and Chorus Andrei Christiakov The Snow Maiden is a figure in Russian folk tales. She is beautiful and has skin as white as snow, blue eyes and curly hair. She is known as ‘Snegurochka’ in Russian - ‘sneg’ is the Russian word for snow. She is the daughter of the immortal Gods, Father Frost and Mother Spring. The Snow Maiden first appeared in writing in the nineteenth century. The roots of this character can be found in Slavic pagan beliefs. The folk tale became even more popular in 1873 when it was converted into a play,‘The Snow Maiden’ for the Moscow Imperial Theatre. It was written by Aleksandr Ostrovsky, with music written by Tchaikovsky. The tale was also adapted into an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, ‘The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale’, in 1881.

Berlioz La Mort de Cleopatre

https://youtu.be/Fv4ZIcVq-4U This is a cantata written by Hector Berlioz. It was inspired from a poem by P. Vieillard. This cantata is less familiar in the vocal music repertoire. For Berlioz's followers, it brings into focus Berlioz's admiration in the realm of antiquity. It also includes a melody that Berlioz would later use again in his opera `Benvenuto Cellini'; it is used as the English horn theme that can be heard at the beginning of the second section of Le Carnaval Romain. The composition is broken into five segments - 1. Allegro vivace con impeto - Recitativo 2. Lento Cantabile - Recitativo 3. Méditation. Largo Misterioso 4. Allegro Assai Agitato 5. Moderato. Recitativo Misurato Berlioz entered this composition in 1829 in the Prix de Rome. This was his third attempt at the coveted prize. In those days, the judges were known for their conservative inclinations and, as expected, even his third attempt was unsuccessful as he did not do anything about diluting his innovative and adventurous style of writing. However, Berlioz won after a couple of years when he submitted another cantata, `La Mort de Sardanaple'. Jessye Norman and Daniel Barenboim with L'Orchestre de Paris bring out a convincing performance and make a strong impression. I have this on DGG vinyl that I purchased in 1985. Norman has given a gripping portrayal of the tragic queen who died by her own hand. Norman is superb in the central Meditation and in the fashion she whispers the last phrases uttered by the Queen. It is a compelling performance. Barenboim matches her achievement by bringing out the innovative nuances of Berlioz's score, supporting her all the time. The final passages are superb with sthe strings illustrating the death of Cleopatra. These are extremely original passages and the judges were arseholes not to realise the astonishing and compelling style of writing.

Sibelius Fourth

https://youtu.be/zl_q1QDkiiw Sibelius composed his dark Fourth Symphony in A Minor in 1910. He wrote eight symphonies - seven numbered and one big symphonic poem Kullervo. He composed these symphonies between 1899 and 1924 and stopped writing symphonies after that. The movements of his Fourth Symphony are at variance with the symphonic traditions of the times, particularly the way the second and fourth movements culminate and die out in a whimper. Sibelius developed his symphonic style through the formative powers of his themes. He used melodies with a broad span and concise motifs with thematic germ cells. The music ranges between brightness and ominous darkness. The brevity in his composition style is aphoristic. The themes bring out Sibelius' inner thinking processes. The first movement opens with a dark chord and the cello introducing a three-part song. You will come across a thematically independent introduction as well as a coda. The second movement is also a three-part song that has an extensive closing section that introduces new themes. The third movement is an expansive one and it opens with a couple of short phrases that alternate in various forms and they reappear unchanged, giving the whole movement a sense of unity. The finale is written in sonata form but it does not have the standard recapitulation as a result of the change of the thematic material that is found in the development section. Sibelius assembles the motifs of the themes quite prominently in this symphony and they compete with each other, both singularly and in combination. You will come across this in the exposition of the first movement and again in parts of the finale. The cello carries the theme in the first movement while the violin carries it in the final movement. The texture of writing is mostly polyphonic, giving the sound a unique type of transparency. Sibelius favours darker tone colours, making the themes sound significant. Sibelius conducted the premier of this symphony in Helsinki in April, 1911. This symphony represents a deep, sombre and austere side of Sibelius' symphonic personality.