Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 (reference recording: János Starker, Rafael Kubelík)

Album available // Schumann: Cello Concerto by János Starker
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
00:00 I. Nicht Zu Schnell
10:54 II. Langsam
15:23 III. Sehr Lebhaft

Cello: János Starker
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Conductor: Rafael Kubelík
Recorded in 1961

How is it possible to complete a Cello Concerto in two weeks? It is difficult to answer this question, and yet this is the length of time that was sufficient for Robert Schumann to write his. Nevertheless, in order to give an account of the extraordinary burst of creativity that took him between October 10 and 24, 1850, we can rely on some diaries, correspondence, memories that he and his wife Clara left, which allows us to follow his daily life almost day by day and to know at least the environment in which this work was born. The Schumann family has just moved to Düsseldorf where he has accepted a position as Director of Music, a heavy task. If the installation is difficult for the couple and their five children, Robert and Clara Schumann discover with amazement that they are celebrities in this new city. Gradually settling down to find a little more peace and quiet, Robert felt a strong desire to compose, and on October 10, 1850 he began what he called a "Concert Piece for Cello and Orchestra. In one week, he wrote the complete sketch...

The Cello Concerto is probably the most accomplished work of Robert Schumann's late period and, at the same time, one of the summits of the repertoire for this instrument. The composer "[...] seems almost to renounce the dimension of exchange - of "dialogue" between soloist and orchestra - which had characterized any concerto of a certain level since the time of Mozart. One could define it as a kind of monologue-dream of the soloist, essentially lyrical in character, with rare bursts of energy and virtuosity: even the chivalrous features of the finale are rather discontinuous and often leave room for unpredictable detours. This rapsodic and wandering journey through the sonic space and the landscape of themes (numerous and centrifugal, though related) takes place against the background of a discreet, almost effaced orchestra. From time to time, the cello, as if in a state of intermittent wakefulness, seems to seize from this background a cell, an idea, a fleeting suggestion, which it will make its own and take along again in its wanderings. In the first movement, in particular, the 'tutti' for the orchestra alone are reduced, in relation to the accepted formal grammar, to the strict minimum and are quickly liquidated, without even giving them the time to complete the themes in an accomplished manner: in its turn, the orchestra 'loses' itself to make room for the soloist again....

In the approach of the Concerto in A minor, one finds a kind of conception according to which the self, with its sensations and its feelings, constitutes the only existing reality of which one is sure (listen to be convinced of it the "love" duet that the cello sings with itself in double strings in the second movement...); one feels a state of closure inside a rich and poetic self, but cut off from the world. Some have evoked, in this respect, the difficulties of communication, the withdrawal, the mental disorders that Schumann developed for a long time and which will lead him to madness in the following years. However, op. 129, unlike what will happen in the Violin Concerto of 1853 - his last orchestral composition, tormented and problematic - manages to master its "other", erratic logic, to fix it and to transmit it in the form of an accomplished discourse, having its coherence and its efficiency. Beyond that, the abyss will be the result: for the moment, Schumann offers us the late and perfect fruit of a romantic freedom of spirit, before the new generation - that of Brahms - takes on the task of reconciling dream and structure.

Other Album available // Bach: The Cello Suites by János Starker

[classicalmusicreference]

Album available // Schumann: Cello Concerto by János Starker
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
00:00 I. Nicht Zu Schnell
10:54 II. Langsam
15:23 III. Sehr Lebhaft

Cello: János Starker
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Conductor: Rafael Kubelík
Recorded in 1961, at Köln

How is it possible to complete a Cello Concerto in two weeks? It is difficult to answer this question, and yet this is the length of time that was sufficient for Robert Schumann to write his. Nevertheless, in order to give an account of the extraordinary burst of creativity that took him between October 10 and 24, 1850, we can rely on some diaries, correspondence, memories that he and his wife Clara left, which allows us to follow his daily life almost day by day and to know at least the environment in which this work was born. The Schumann family has just moved to Düsseldorf where he has accepted a position as Director of Music, a heavy task. If the installation is difficult for the couple and their five children, Robert and Clara Schumann discover with amazement that they are celebrities in this new city. Gradually settling down to find a little more peace and quiet, Robert felt a strong desire to compose, and on October 10, 1850 he began what he called a "Concert Piece for Cello and Orchestra. In one week, he wrote the complete sketch...

The Cello Concerto is probably the most accomplished work of Robert Schumann's late period and, at the same time, one of the summits of the repertoire for this instrument. The composer "[...] seems almost to renounce the dimension of exchange - of "dialogue" between soloist and orchestra - which had characterized any concerto of a certain level since the time of Mozart. One could define it as a kind of monologue-dream of the soloist, essentially lyrical in character, with rare bursts of energy and virtuosity: even the chivalrous features of the finale are rather discontinuous and often leave room for unpredictable detours. This rapsodic and wandering journey through the sonic space and the landscape of themes (numerous and centrifugal, though related) takes place against the background of a discreet, almost effaced orchestra. From time to time, the cello, as if in a state of intermittent wakefulness, seems to seize from this background a cell, an idea, a fleeting suggestion, which it will make its own and take along again in its wanderings. In the first movement, in particular, the 'tutti' for the orchestra alone are reduced, in relation to the accepted formal grammar, to the strict minimum and are quickly liquidated, without even giving them the time to complete the themes in an accomplished manner: in its turn, the orchestra 'loses' itself to make room for the soloist again....

In the approach of the Concerto in A minor, one finds a kind of conception according to which the self, with its sensations and its feelings, constitutes the only existing reality of which one is sure (listen to be convinced of it the "love" duet that the cello sings with itself in double strings in the second movement...); one feels a state of closure inside a rich and poetic self, but cut off from the world. Some have evoked, in this respect, the difficulties of communication, the withdrawal, the mental disorders that Schumann developed for a long time and which will lead him to madness in the following years. However, op. 129, unlike what will happen in the Violin Concerto of 1853 - his last orchestral composition, tormented and problematic - manages to master its "other", erratic logic, to fix it and to transmit it in the form of an accomplished discourse, having its coherence and its efficiency. Beyond that, the abyss will be the result: for the moment, Schumann offers us the late and perfect fruit of a romantic freedom of spirit, before the new generation - that of Brahms - takes on the task of reconciling dream and structure.

Other Album available // Bach: The Cello Suites by János Starker

[classicalmusicreference]

How is it possible to complete a Cello Concerto in two weeks? It is difficult to answer this question, and yet this is the length of time that was sufficient for Robert Schumann to write his. Nevertheless, in order to give an account of the extraordinary burst of creativity that took him between October 10 and 24, 1850, we can rely on some diaries, correspondence, memories that he and his wife Clara left, which allows us to follow his daily life almost day by day and to know at least the environment in which this work was born. The Schumann family has just moved to Düsseldorf where he has accepted a position as Director of Music, a heavy task. If the installation is difficult for the couple and their five children, Robert and Clara Schumann discover with amazement that they are celebrities in this new city. Gradually settling down to find a little more peace and quiet, Robert felt a strong desire to compose, and on October 10, 1850 he began what he called a "Concert Piece for Cello and Orchestra. In one week, he wrote the complete sketch...

The Cello Concerto is probably the most accomplished work of Robert Schumann's late period and, at the same time, one of the summits of the repertoire for this instrument. The composer "[...] seems almost to renounce the dimension of exchange - of "dialogue" between soloist and orchestra - which had characterized any concerto of a certain level since the time of Mozart. One could define it as a kind of monologue-dream of the soloist, essentially lyrical in character, with rare bursts of energy and virtuosity: even the chivalrous features of the finale are rather discontinuous and often leave room for unpredictable detours. This rapsodic and wandering journey through the sonic space and the landscape of themes (numerous and centrifugal, though related) takes place against the background of a discreet, almost effaced orchestra. From time to time, the cello, as if in a state of intermittent wakefulness, seems to seize from this background a cell, an idea, a fleeting suggestion, which it will make its own and take along again in its wanderings. In the first movement, in particular, the 'tutti' for the orchestra alone are reduced, in relation to the accepted formal grammar, to the strict minimum and are quickly liquidated, without even giving them the time to complete the themes in an accomplished manner: in its turn, the orchestra 'loses' itself to make room for the soloist again....

In the approach of the Concerto in A minor, one finds a kind of conception according to which the self, with its sensations and its feelings, constitutes the only existing reality of which one is sure (listen to be convinced of it the "love" duet that the cello sings with itself in double strings in the second movement...); one feels a state of closure inside a rich and poetic self, but cut off from the world. Some have evoked, in this respect, the difficulties of communication, the withdrawal, the mental disorders that Schumann developed for a long time and which will lead him to madness in the following years. However, op. 129, unlike what will happen in the Violin Concerto of 1853 - his last orchestral composition, tormented and problematic - manages to master its "other", erratic logic, to fix it and to transmit it in the form of an accomplished discourse, having its coherence and its efficiency. Beyond that, the abyss will be the result: for the moment, Schumann offers us the late and perfect fruit of a romantic freedom of spirit, before the new generation - that of Brahms - takes on the task of reconciling dream and structure.

Other Album available // Bach: The Cello Suites by János Starker

[IamUncledeuce]

János is always a favorite! Thank you for your dedicated efforts.

[notaire]

Wunderschöne und detaillierte Interpertation dieses romantischen und perfekt komponierten Konzerts mit tiefem doch gut phrasiertem Ton des unvergleichlichen Solovioloncellos sowie gut vereinigten und perfekt entsprechenden Tönen der anderen Instrumente. Der zweite Satz klingt besonders schön und echt melodisch. Im Gegensatz klingt der dritte Satz echt lebhaft und auch überzeugend. Der intelligente und ebenso unvergleichliche Dirigent leitet das ausgezeichnete Orchester im veränderlichen Tempo und mit möglichst effektiver Dynamik. Einfach wunderbar!

[johnmichaelfriedrich]

Wow! ❤ This piece resonates well in my heart! 👏🎶

[surfacegraphy]

Dear Classical Music/ /Reference Recording, hi. I loves your channel. Amazing. Thanks. Gracias, Marcelo Baglione from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Rio