PERFORMERS:
Alice Sara Ott (piano)
The Mariinsky Orchestra
Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy
PROGRAMME:
Jean Sibelius
Rakastava (The Lover) for strings, kettle drums and triangle, Op. 14
Edvard Grieg
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No 8 in G Major, Op. 88
In 1894 Jean Sibelius composed Rakastava (The Lover) for male chorus and strings to verse from an anthology of folk texts by Elias Lönnrot. Four years later he reworked the cycle for mixed chorus with no accompaniment, while in 1911–12 he created a version for string orchestra, significantly reworking the first and third movements. The late romantics took a great interest in the expressive means of the string orchestra: there were compositions for strings by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky (serenades) as well as by Grieg (the suite From Holberg’s Time).
In the suite, the programme of which comprises a typically romantic love plot, Sibelius developed a kind of “northern” lyricism which Grieg had discovered, although the rhythm and the harmony are entirely his own. There is an unusual feature in the instrumentation – the addition of percussion to the strings with the timpani (in the 1st and 3rd movements) and the triangle (in the 2nd movement). Sibelius used the timbre resource very economically, and it appears in only a few episodes.
Vladimir Khavrov
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was and remains to this day Norway’s greatest composer, and the piano concerto he composed at the age of twenty-five is one of the most frequently performed works in the international repertoire. The concerto received the blessing of Franz Liszt, who (as he loved to do) played a work completely and utterly unknown to him directly from the score, approved the music and gave his support to the young composer. Himself a recital pianist (his recordings remain, made in the very first years of the 20th century), Grieg was subsequently to perform the concerto several times. Unfortunately, this work remained the only experiment of its kind: the Second Piano Concerto, commissioned by Peters publishing, was never completed by the composer.
In common with the Romantics, the concerto begins with the soloist – a lyrical hero. Grieg, who had just turned to national romanticism, imbued this first solo with a vivid national flavour, writing it in the harmony widespread exclusively in early 17th century Scandinavian folklore (in minor key, omitting the fifth degree). In turn, the main theme of the finale is halling Norwegian dance. In the combination of lyricism and northern colour, we have the secret of the concerto’s unfading allure. And also in the abundance of musical themes, in as much as the young composer did not consider the use of “wise economy”.
Anna Bulycheva
Dvořák was already famous by the time he had written his Eighth Symphony. His music enjoyed great success, he himself appeared as a conductor both in Bohemia and beyond (including in Russia), and he was offered a professorship at the Prague Conservatoire. He composed a great deal; along with the Eighth Symphony came the opera The Jacobin, the Piano Quintet in A Major and the Requiem. Dvořák composed the symphony very quickly – it took him just over two months. If in the preceding Seventh Symphony dramatic moods are uppermost then the music of the Eighth has a lyrical character. Doubtless the composer was inspired by scenes of nature and Czech national melodies.
The interpretation of the form in the first movement is unique. For the first time with the composer the slow introduction plays a significant role – thematically it is developed and independent (this idea was developed in the Ninth Symphony). The theme of the introduction serves as a border between the different sections of the form, appearing both before the dramatic development and – during the culmination – before the reprise. The start of the main role comes with the “birdlike” motif of the flute, while the secondary theme resembles a march adorned in melancholy hues.
The second movement is a truly romantic Adagio in which different episodes follow one after another, contrasting in character but united by the initial growing motif of four notes. The place of the typical scherzo in the third movement is surrendered to a melancholy waltz which reminds us of intermezzos from symphonies by Brahms with whom Dvořák had long been friends.
The middle section is constructed on a theme borrowed by Dvořák from his own one-act comic opera The Stubborn Lovers. This is also where the coda comes from, unexpectedly breaking into the flowing movement of the waltz with a two-time dance in the folk style. The finale is heralded by a fanfare signal from the trumpets followed by a theme and variations. This form refers back to Brahms and the finale of his Fourth Symphony, although – unlike the latter – the finale of Dvořák’s symphony is adorned in light and life-affirming tones.
Vladimir Khavrov
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