Classical Works Spotlight #335--Elgar

[erik]

The second most widely performed cello concerto after Dvorak's is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, as done by one of the great cellists of the modern age.

Elgar: CELLO CONCERTO IN E MINOR, OP. 85

After the B Minor one of Dvorak, the 1919 E Minor cello concerto of Sir Edward Elgar is perhaps the most popular and most oft-performed of any concertos for that instrument. But it was a changed Elgar from the one that came before World War I, when much of his renown came from the series of “Pomp And Circumstance” marches and the two large symphonies he had composed. Though this concerto requires a sizeable orchestra as well, the main emphasis, as it is in Dvorak’s concerto, is on the soloist, who has a great deal to do. The first movement is fairly elastic, really combining two movements of differing tempos into one elongated movement of nearly twelve and a half minutes. The Adagio, though short in duration (at only five minutes), is one of Elgar’s greatest singular movements; and the finale vigorously presages some of the ideas that would be much later utilized by Prokofiev in his E Minor Sinfonia-Concertante for cello and orchestra, as well as Sir William Walton’s 1956 cello concerto, which owes a great deal to Elgar’s, besides the two composers’ English nationalities. Elgar, not necessarily one to boast about any of his works, even this one, regarded as his most popular concentrated work, had been asked by someone about the meaning of the concerto, and he simply explained “A man’s attitude to life.” The concerto had its premiere at Queen’s Hall in London on October 27, 1919, with Felix Salmond as the cello soloist, and Elgar himself conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. The extreme success of the piece ensured its place in the repertoire, for cellists, and for 20th century classical music in general, from that point onward.



Cello: YO-YO MA

London Symphony Orchestra/ANDRE PREVIN (CBS)

Included:
Walton: CELLO CONCERTO

[egoodstein]

Terrific concerto, possibly my fave Elgar work (well, one anyway w. Sea Pictures, Enigma Variations, Dream of Gerontius. . . ). I love esp. Jacqueline Du Pré's amazing 'dazzling energetic' rendition, though this is fine too (both w. Barbirolli and Daniel Barenboim). And very recently, I've enjoyed the very different, thoughtful, lyrical and 'precisely colored' take by Jean-Guihen Queyras w. Jiri Belohlavek. This recording is nice in combining the Walton too-- and very nice, solid renditions, and interesting contrasts as well as similarities in the works. Ma of course is gifted player with fine technical mastery. I think at times Elgar can just sound 'moody,' but at his best he has a poetic, profound take with very 'English' references, that certainly influenced others after him like Vaughn Williams, Walton and others. And well worth considering. Certainly the Cello Concerto is one of the best of the 20th century.

[erik]

This is just one of those works that is an absolute must for cellists; and certainly Ma, really about six or seven years into his career, knew he'd have to tackle this. He fortunately had a good solid conductor in Previn, whose experience with the London Symphony during the 1970s and his familiarity with British composers made this recording among the best of any of this particular concerto (it was made in 1984), especially when combined with Walton's concerto. The trick in doing Elgar, and I think this was something Previn once pointed out, is to do it in a way that this music doesn't sound like an Anglicized version of Tchaikovsky. He pulled it off, as too did Ma (IMHO).