D Major is the key of glory, of victory and of heaven-rejoicing choruses. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. It is a strong and dynamic key that reminds me of the color bronze, but also of a deep red. It always has substance. It is persistent, sunny and energetic. So, in the Baroque period, we find triumphal music, choruses and trumpet concertos in D major. The "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah, and his coronation anthem Zadok the Priest are in D major, as is the Fireworks Music. Most of the major choruses in D make extensive use of trumpets.
On top of that, D major is well-suited to violin music because of the structure of the instrument, which is tuned G D A E. The open strings resonate sympathetically with the D string, producing a sound that is especially brilliant. So many classical composers throughout the centuries have chosen to write violin concertos in D major, such as by Mozart (No. 2, 1775, No. 4, 1775); Beethoven (1806); Paganini (No. 1, 1817); Brahms (1878); Tchaikovsky (1878); Prokofiev (No. 1, 1917); Stravinsky (1931); and Korngold (1945).
23 of Haydn's 104 symphonies are in D major (an even larger number than his symphonies in C!). The symphony evolved from the overture, and D major was by far the most common key for overtures in the second half of the eighteenth century. This continued also into the Romantic Period. Famous symphonies written in D major include Mozart's symphonies No. 31
(Paris) and No. 38 (Prague), Beethoven's No. 2 Op. 36, Brahms's No. 2
Op. 73, Sibelius's No. 2 Op. 43, and Prokofiev's No. 1 (Classical) Op.
25.
On another note, D Major was also used for the "triumphant" final movements of D minor symphonies, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Robert Schumann's Fourth Symphony, and the symphony by César Franck.
Concerto in D major for trumpet, violins, and basso continuo by Georg Philipp Telemann.
Telemann composed several concertos for trumpet, but only one in which a single trumpet is the soloist. With its four movements slow-fast-slow-fast it is in the style of the Italianate sonata da chiesa (Church Sonata). It is usually dated to the period 1710-1720, while Telemann was City Director of Music in Frankfurt. In many ways, Telemann was the opposite of Bach: he is focused on melody
rather than counterpoint and his elegant music looks ahead to the
Classical style. It is no coincidence that Telemann composed tens of concerti for wind instruments.
Structured in four movements, the piece exudes an air of effortless melodic simplicity throughout. In the opening stately Adagio the expressive and sonorous qualities of the trumpet are featured. In the following ebullient Allegro, the interest is more equally divided in a dialogue between the violins and the trumpet, while in the Grave third movement, in B minor, the trumpeter is allowed a rest. The Allegro finale puts the trumpet through its paces, in a bright, joyous conclusion to a concise but entertaining piece.
Listen to Giuliano Sommerhalder and the Kammerorchester Basel (leader: Julia Schröder) in this performance on historical instruments.
The Music for the Royal Fireworks is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The music celebrates the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. Music for the Royal Fireworks opens with a French overture and includes a bourrée and two minuets. The work is in five movements, which are all in a victorious D Major.
The piece was originally scored for a large wind band ensemble consisting of 24 oboes, 12 bassoons and a contrabassoon, nine natural trumpets, nine natural horns, three pairs of kettledrums, and side drums. Handel was specific about the numbers of instruments to each written part. In the overture there are assigned three players to each of the three trumpet parts; the 24 oboes are divided 12, 8 and 4; and the 12 bassoons are divided 8 and 4. The side drums were instructed when to play in La Réjouissance and the second Menuet, but very likely also played in the Ouverture.
As it is difficult to amass these wind forces, the Fireworks Music is usually played by a traditional Baroque orchestra - the only exception I know is this unbelievable historical performance by Hervé Niquet, conductor, and Le Concert Spirituel. Never was D Major more triumphal!
Handel's Hallelujah from the Messiah
"Hallelujah" is a composition for four-part choir and orchestra by George Frideric Handel. He wrote it in 1741 in London as part of his oratorio "Messiah". Today it is one of the most famous musical works ever. The piece, which lasts just under 4 minutes, is in D major, the royal key of Baroque music. The orchestra begins at first with the strings only; in the course of the piece, timpani and trumpets are added in an effective increase.Handel's oratorios are dramatic works without scenic presentation, consisting of instrumental pieces, recitatives, arias, and choruses in English. The plot is usually borrowed from the Old Testament or antique history. Unlike Bach's oratorios and passions, they were not intended for church liturgy. The Messiah, however, occupies a special position because the text consists exclusively of biblical words, which blurs the line between concert and worship.
The Hallelujah shared the reception history of the Messiah, but took a special position in it early on. Already for the year 1750 the custom is attested to stand up when it was played. That custom is explained by the worshipful atmosphere that the Hallelujah created in the concert hall and that turned the "audience" into "worshipers." Standing up during the Hallelujah is customary to this day, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Members of Apollo5 and The VOCES8 Foundation Choir & Baroque Orchestra.
Mozart: Sonata for Two Pianos in D, KV 448
The Sonata in D major, K.448 was composed by Mozart in Vienna at the age of 25 and completed in November 1781.
1st movement Allegro con spirito in D major, 4/4 time, sonata form
2nd movement Andante in G major, 3/4 time, sonata form
3rd movement Molto allegro in D major, 2/4 time, Rondo form
Mozart had an excellent female piano pupil, Josepha Barbara Auernhammer, and this piece was composed for them to play together, and was premiered at a concert held at her home on November 23, 1781. It is truly "healing" music - another aspect of D Major?
The piece became well-known in Japan thanks to Tomoko Ninomiya's manga "Nodame Cantabile," about classical music, as the first piece in which the main characters Shinichi Chiaki and Megumi Noda (Nodame) perform together.
Played by Lucas & Arthur Jussen.
Violin Concerto op. 61 - Ludwig van Beethoven
A work from Beethoven's most productive creative middle period. Beethoven composed the work with Franz Clement, a violinist and concertmaster of the Theater an der Wien Orchestra, as his soloist, and he accepted his advice. However, the piece was rarely performed after that, and its presence faded away. It is to Joseph Joachim's credit that the work was picked up again and made famous to the point of being called the "King of Violin Concertos." He called it the greatest violin concerto of all time and continued to perform it throughout his life.
1st movement. Allegro ma non troppo in D major. Sonata form in concerto style.
Four soft timpani beats, followed by the introduction of the main theme
by the woodwinds, introduce the movement, whose song-like yet majestic
main theme spreads a lyrical mood. The timpani motif returns at several
points in the movement. The solo violin enters only after the
introduction of the two main themes and an orchestral passage of about
three minutes and plays the first theme in the solo exposition section, where the timpani motif appears again. The second theme is in A major. The clarinet plays over the trills of the solo violin. The development section begins with the orchestra playing an F major chord, and the second theme is played by the woodwinds, soon to be followed by the whole orchestra. The solo violin joins in after the orchestra has settled down and plays the first theme, juggling it. In the recapitulation, the orchestra plays the first theme, and the solo violin joins it two octaves higher. From this point on, the music proceeds in the key of D major, almost the same as in the exposition section. When the orchestra closes with the main chord in D major, there is a cadenza, but Beethoven did not compose this cadenza. After the cadenza, the solo violin quietly plays the second theme over the strings, but it gradually gains power and ends strongly with a strong main chord.
2nd movement. Larghetto in G major,
The main theme of this movement is peaceful and mild, and is presented by the strings. From the first to the third variation, the solo violin does not play the theme but moves around decoratively. In the first variation, the horn and clarinet take charge of the theme, and in the second variation, the bassoon does so. In the third variation, the solo violin introduces a new melody, designated to be played only on the G and D strings. As it is gorgeously transformed, the theme of the main part is intertwined with the theme of the middle part. The strings grow in mass, and here the solo violin plays a short cadenza (this cadenza was written by Beethoven), which leads directly into the third movement.
3rd movement. Rondo Allegro in D major. Rondo form.
The solo violin starts with the rondo theme, which is repeated by the orchestra. Next, the solo violin plays a cheerful first subtheme. After this, the solo violin reproduces the rondo theme through a detailed transitional phrase, using a polyphonic technique. As the orchestra repeats the rondo theme, the solo violin begins to play variations on it, which eventually lead to the sentimental second sub-theme. The bassoon takes over, and the solo violin recapitulates the rondo theme after the ornaments. The music proceeds as in the rondo pattern with the repetition of the orchestra and the first subtheme by the solo violin, and then comes the cadenza (as in the first movement, Beethoven did not compose this cadenza). The solo violin reproduces the rondo theme, and together with the orchestra, builds a glorious climax to close the whole piece strongly.
hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Violin and Philippe Herreweghe, conductor.
Igor Stravinsky, Violin Concerto in D.
The idea of writing a violin concerto was suggested to Stravinsky in 1930 by Willy Strecker, head of the Schott publishing firm in Mainz, as a vehicle for a young Polish-American violinist named Samuel Dushkin, a pupil of Leopold Auer and Fritz Kreisler. The composer's initial, seemingly alarmed response was, "But I am not a violinist!" Stravinsky sought the advice of fellow composer Paul Hindemith, who was a professional violist. Hindemith assured Stravinsky that the lack of first-hand experience with the violin would not be an impediment; on the contrary, he was certain that it would help Stravinsky "avoid a routine technique and would give rise to ideas which would not be suggested by the familiar movement of the fingers." And that is exactly what happened - Stravinsky, who seldom lacked self-confidence was reassured by these words and set himself to the task.
The composition was begun in Nice in the early spring of 1931 and completed in September. The world premiere (or broadcast premiere) took place on October 23, 1931, at a Berlin broadcast station, conducted by Dushkin and Stravinsky and performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.
1st movement. Toccata in free form, based on the key of D major.
2nd movement Aria I/II (Aria I/II). The first aria is in D major, in three parts. The second aria is in F-sharp minor.
3rd movement. Capriccio in D major.
Listen to this wonderful, acrobatic performance by Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra), Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35
Composed through the persuasion of fellow exile and violinist Bronislav Huberman, the work was premiered on February 15, 1947, with a solo performance by Jascha Heifetz and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Goldschman. Heifetz continued to perform and record the piece, but afterwards the concerto was forgotten for a time, until its appeal was rediscovered through the active recording and concert performances of young musicians such as Gil Shaham and Hilary Hahn. The violin concerto is now one of the most important neo-romantic violin concertos of the 20th century.The music is composed in a dense, lyrical style, with a hint of fin-de-siècle Vienna, and the orchestral sophistication is on full display. Korngold brought to the Hollywood film industry a refined musical vocabulary developed from his classical training, but he also created art music inspired by his own film music. Like Korngold's other instrumental works of the same period (e.g., String Quartet No. 3 and Cello Concerto), this concerto borrows thematic material for each movement from Korngold's film music.
First movement: Moderato nobile. D major.
The movement is structured like a sonata form, but it can also be seen as a free-form fantasy-like movement. The melody played by the solo violin without introduction is based on the theme music of the 1937 film "Another Dawn," and runs over two octaves with only five notes. After a lively second theme, the violin soloist quotes almost the entire melody of "Carlotta's Theme" from the 1939 film Juarez in the middle section. The theme is in A major all the way through, but tends to lean toward a minor key. It also serves to prepare the variations and cadenza of the first movement that follows. After the cadenza comes the recapitulation. The first theme is presented by the whole orchestra, followed by the recollection of "Carlotta's theme" and its development, and then the second theme brings the piece to a lively conclusion.
Second movement Romanza Romanze. G major.
This movement begins with a gentle and mysterious introduction. The main theme is taken from the 1936 film music "Anthony Adverse," and after a contrasting middle section, it is meticulously transformed in the recapitulation section. The middle section is not taken from the film music, but seems to have been newly written especially for this concerto.
Third movement Allegro assai vivace. D major. Rondo sonata form.
The most technically demanding movement begins with the first theme in staccato leap form. The second theme is taken from the theme music of the 1937 film "The Prince and the Pauper" and is presented in B-flat major by the solo violin. The climax of the piece is of the highest technical skill, and is a fitting conclusion to the whole concerto.
Hilary Hahn, violin; Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, Kent Nagano, conductor
[With thanks to relevant public domain articles in either the German, Japanese, Dutch or English Wikipedia]