Beethoven’s violin concerto in D Major (1806) is among the very finest examples in the genre in terms of European classical music. It is remarkable for the depth of its content together with the majestic simplicity of its themes, its poignant and sincere lyricism, its noble restraint of emotions and true aristocratism. The latter emerges in a reluctance to indulge the tastes of the public, which according to the established tradition was expecting a demonstration of virtuoso standards with the concerto, both from the soloist and from his instrument. Apropos, again, as in his piano concerti, the composer here strives towards the symphonic form. With Beethoven, “virtuosity always remains the servant to inspiration” (Edouard Herriot).
At the premiere, performed by renowned virtuoso Franz Clement in Vienna on 23 December 1806, the Concerto proved a failure with the public. One year later, Clement resolved on a repeat performance of just the first movement of the Concerto, and once again failed to find a common language with the Viennese. Surprisingly, Beethoven’s masterpiece was never again performed during his lifetime. Before us we have one of the most striking examples of collective deafness and unforgivable short-sightedness on behalf of music critics.
At the advice of Muzio Clementi (a composer and brilliant pianist), a disappointed Beethoven … rearranged the violin part for piano in 1807 and even wrote piano cadenzas for the first movement and for the finale. Sadly, this version, too, Beethoven was not destined to hear; it has been performed on very rare occasions in the course of the subsequent two centuries. On the other hand, Beethoven’s original score, published only in 1861 (during the composer’s lifetime only the solo and the orchestral parts were printed), has since won acclaim throughout the world.
Iosif Raiskin
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This epigraph, taken from a letter from Mahler to Emil Gutmann, the impresario and director of a concert agency which was preparing for the premiere of Mahler’s Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, is rather typical of many (if not all!) artists and creators. An opus being created today holds complete sway over the composer’s thoughts, he will be sincere in his love of the score he is writing.
Mahler’s Tragische Sixth Symphony is framed by two heroic, life affirming symphonies – the Fifth and the Seventh. But any parallels with Beethoven are approximate: this is not Beethoven’s heroic struggle and triumph. The contrasts between people’s moods, embodied in natural rotations, were closer to Mahler – rotations such as the changing seasons, day and night, light and darkness… The twilight of consciousness, fatalistic doom and the hero’s romantic searches are contrasted with a classical clarity in the abridged pages of the symphonic cycles. “… The sunlight of the finale (in the Seventh, I. R.) also has its own cultural and historical starting point. It is, as in the Fifth Symphony, “the golden age of the classics” (Inna Barsova). Arguably, the Seventh Symphony, like no other of Mahler’s symphonies, is picturesque, like no other appealing to visual images – be it natural scenes or picturesque panoramas. This dictates the inventiveness of the sound, which at times reaches staggering effects, close, on one hand, to the art of Rembrandt and, on the other, to the paintings of the Impressionists.
Iosif Raiskin
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