A minor is a melancholy key, expressing tenderness and sadness, and having a lamenting, dignified, and subdued character.
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
Since the key of A minor does not use a key signature, it is
considered easy to read and suitable for beginners. Violins, violas, and
cellos also have an open A string, and it is frequently found in
concertos.
Bach not only wrote one of his well-known violin concertos in A minor, but also used that key for his concerto for 4 harpsichords, based on Vivaldi. During the Classical period, orchestral music rarely used A minor as the principal key, but in the Romantic period, A minor became very popular. In 1816, Hummel wrote one of his best concertos in that key, and it apparently was a favorite key of Schumann, but also Mendelssohn, Grieg, Brahms, Saint-Saens, and Tchaikovsky wrote important work in this key. As we for example hear in the Scottish Symphony of Mendelssohn, one of the most high Romantic musical works I know, A minor is beautifully suited to the expression of feelings of melancholy.
In the 20th c. we for example have the violin concerto No 1 by Shostakovitch and the Oboe Concerto by Vaughan Williams, as well as the Sixth Symphony by Mahler.
Characteristic music in A minor:
Johann Sebastian Bach, Concerto in A minor for 4 Harpsichords BWV 1065
Largely based on Vivaldi's Concerto in B minor for four violins and orchestra. But in Bach’s version the soloists play harpsichords and B minor was changed into A minor. Bach made a number of transcriptions of Antonio Vivaldi's concertos, especially from his Op. 3 set L'estro armonico. Bach adapted them for solo harpsichord and solo organ, but for the Concerto for 4 violins in B minor, Op. 3 No. 10, he decided upon the unique solution of using four harpsichords and orchestra. This is the only orchestral harpsichord concerto by Bach which was not an adaptation of his own music. In the middle movement, Bach has the four harpsichords playing differently-articulated arpeggios in a very unusual tonal blend, while providing some additional virtuosity and tension in the other movements. All three movements are in the same key of A minor.
Siebe Henstra, Menno van Delft, Pieter-Jan Belder and Tineke Steenbrink and Netherlands Bach Society.
Siebe Henstra, Menno van Delft, Pieter-Jan Belder and Tineke Steenbrink and Netherlands Bach Society.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor Op. 85
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor was composed by Hummel in 1816 and published in Vienna in 1821. While Hummel's earlier concertos followed Mozart's style almost to the letter, this concerto and the next are written in a prototypical Romantic style, foreshadowing developments that were to come later from composers such as Mendelssohn and Chopin. The piece is also written to show off Hummel's own virtuosity.
The three movements are:
1st movement Allegro moderato (A minor)
2nd movement Larghetto in F major
3rd movement Rondo, Allegro moderato (A minor)
Els Biesemans plays Hummel Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Minor Op. 85 on Fortepiano
Capriccio Barockorchester on period instruments
The three movements are:
1st movement Allegro moderato (A minor)
2nd movement Larghetto in F major
3rd movement Rondo, Allegro moderato (A minor)
Els Biesemans plays Hummel Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Minor Op. 85 on Fortepiano
Capriccio Barockorchester on period instruments
Felix Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish", 1829-1842)
In the summer of 1829, the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy made a three-week visit to Scotland which was to result in the writing of two of his best-loved works: the Overture – The Hebrides, and the Symphony No 3 in A minor (Scottish). But the symphony was only completed on January 20, 1842.
The 4 movements (played without pause) are:
(1) Introduction and allegro agitato - the slow introduction to the first movement, with its unusual scoring of woodwind and violas suggests the “broken and moldering” chapel of Holyrood, and the subdued mood continues at the opening of the Allegro un poco agitato with the long main theme given pianissimo on violins and clarinet; we have to wait until well into the Allegro before the force of the full orchestra is unleashed. Rather than a second subject in the relative major, Mendelssohn chooses a plaintive theme in the dominant key of E minor which extends the sombre mood still further.
(2) Scherzo assai vivace - this scherzo movement has been likened to a gathering of highlanders making merry, and it has also been suggested that the main theme is reminiscent of the Scottish folk-tune "Charlie is my darling."
(3) Adagio cantabile - a beautiful Adagio which has been described as a lament for Mary Queen of Scots.
(4) Allegro guerriero and finale maestoso - the Finale is marked Allegro Guerriero – fast and warlike – and the music strongly suggests a battle, with its restless syncopations which dominate the movement and the underlying four-square tread of the lower instruments which could be soldiers on a quick march. At the end of the movement the music comes to a virtual stop and is followed by a curious coda which presents a theme which sounds new, although it is related to the very opening theme of the Symphony. The majestic melody begins with the lower strings and the woodwind doubling each other at the bottom of their register before it gradually rises up as if escaping the mists with which Mendelssohn had become so familiar in the Highlands. The Symphony ends in triumph with horns blazing above the full orchestra.
Like his concert overtures, the symphony is a series of mood picture intended to stimulate the imagination of the audience rather than presenting a distinct narrative. The first and last movements, with their virile orchestration, evoke the atmosphere of Walter Scott's historical romances; the second movement introduces dance-like melodic and rhythmic material with a distinctly Scottish flavor and the recitative-like opening of the beautiful slow movement reinforces the impression of a hidden narrative to which individual listeners can respond in their own way.
hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony - Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Dirigent
The 4 movements (played without pause) are:
(1) Introduction and allegro agitato - the slow introduction to the first movement, with its unusual scoring of woodwind and violas suggests the “broken and moldering” chapel of Holyrood, and the subdued mood continues at the opening of the Allegro un poco agitato with the long main theme given pianissimo on violins and clarinet; we have to wait until well into the Allegro before the force of the full orchestra is unleashed. Rather than a second subject in the relative major, Mendelssohn chooses a plaintive theme in the dominant key of E minor which extends the sombre mood still further.
(2) Scherzo assai vivace - this scherzo movement has been likened to a gathering of highlanders making merry, and it has also been suggested that the main theme is reminiscent of the Scottish folk-tune "Charlie is my darling."
(3) Adagio cantabile - a beautiful Adagio which has been described as a lament for Mary Queen of Scots.
(4) Allegro guerriero and finale maestoso - the Finale is marked Allegro Guerriero – fast and warlike – and the music strongly suggests a battle, with its restless syncopations which dominate the movement and the underlying four-square tread of the lower instruments which could be soldiers on a quick march. At the end of the movement the music comes to a virtual stop and is followed by a curious coda which presents a theme which sounds new, although it is related to the very opening theme of the Symphony. The majestic melody begins with the lower strings and the woodwind doubling each other at the bottom of their register before it gradually rises up as if escaping the mists with which Mendelssohn had become so familiar in the Highlands. The Symphony ends in triumph with horns blazing above the full orchestra.
Like his concert overtures, the symphony is a series of mood picture intended to stimulate the imagination of the audience rather than presenting a distinct narrative. The first and last movements, with their virile orchestration, evoke the atmosphere of Walter Scott's historical romances; the second movement introduces dance-like melodic and rhythmic material with a distinctly Scottish flavor and the recitative-like opening of the beautiful slow movement reinforces the impression of a hidden narrative to which individual listeners can respond in their own way.
hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony - Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Dirigent
Robert Schumann, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor Op 54 (1845)
In 1841, Schumann wrote a Fantasy in A minor for piano and orchestra, which was premiered at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig on Aug. 13, 1841, with Schumann's wife Clara Wieck as soloist. She urged him to make it a full-fledged three-movement concerto. In 1845, he added an Intermezzo and a Finale to complete the work. It became the only full piano concerto Schumann wrote. The complete concerto was premiered in Dresden on Dec. 4, 1845, with Clara soloing and Ferdinand Hiller (to whom the work was dedicated) conducting.
There are 3 movements: Allegro affettuoso (A minor) - intermezzo (in F major) and allegro vivace (in A major).
The concerto is notable for its remarkable coherence, despite the piecemeal manner of its composition. Underlying the work's unity is the fact that it is virtually mono-thematic: most of the materials of the outer movements (each cast in free sonata form) are generated by or are transformations of the concerto's introspective, rhythmically ingenious opening theme. Even the motif of the poetic dialogue that serves as the slow movement is founded on a four-note rhythmic cell from that theme.
There are 3 movements: Allegro affettuoso (A minor) - intermezzo (in F major) and allegro vivace (in A major).
The concerto is notable for its remarkable coherence, despite the piecemeal manner of its composition. Underlying the work's unity is the fact that it is virtually mono-thematic: most of the materials of the outer movements (each cast in free sonata form) are generated by or are transformations of the concerto's introspective, rhythmically ingenious opening theme. Even the motif of the poetic dialogue that serves as the slow movement is founded on a four-note rhythmic cell from that theme.
An eminently beautiful concerto from beginning to end, lyrical, spacious and balanced in form, and rich and various in its ideas.
Schumann's wife, Clara Schumann-Wieck, had already 10 years before her husband, in 1835, composed a piano concerto, that interestingly is also in A minor, and that was also completed by adding two movements to an original single concerto movement.
Schumann's wife, Clara Schumann-Wieck, had already 10 years before her husband, in 1835, composed a piano concerto, that interestingly is also in A minor, and that was also completed by adding two movements to an original single concerto movement.
hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Khatia Buniatishvili ∙ Paavo Järvi
Robert Schumann, Violin Sonata No 1 in A minor, Op 105 (1851)
Another beautiful, melancholy work by Schumann as A minor was his favorite key. In 1850, Schumann became the music director of the city of Düsseldorf, and at the same time, he was constantly busy composing. The First Violin Sonata was composed in a short period of time, from September 12 to 16, 1851, at the urging of the famous violinist Ferdinand David. The first performance was given by David and Clara Schumann on March 9, 1852.
The piece consists of the following three movements:
1st movement: Passionate expression (Allegro appassionato)
2nd movement Allegretto
3rd movement, lively (Allegro con brio)
Considerable attention is paid to the expressiveness and balance of the two instruments, violin and piano, and the concise writing style is powerful and passionate. There is a point in which the coda of the third movement recalls the first theme of the first movement in order to unify the whole work.
Leonidas Kavakos (violin) and Daniil Trifonov (piano)
The piece consists of the following three movements:
1st movement: Passionate expression (Allegro appassionato)
2nd movement Allegretto
3rd movement, lively (Allegro con brio)
Considerable attention is paid to the expressiveness and balance of the two instruments, violin and piano, and the concise writing style is powerful and passionate. There is a point in which the coda of the third movement recalls the first theme of the first movement in order to unify the whole work.
Leonidas Kavakos (violin) and Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, op.16 (1868)
Although
the Piano Concerto in A minor is an early work by Grieg (he was 25), it
has become one of the best-known works in his oeuvre. The concerto,
with obvious influences of folk music from Norway, was premiered in its
first version on April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen. When Grieg visited Rome in
1870 to meet Franz Liszt, he had brought the score of the piano
concerto with him. Liszt was enthusiastic and described the concerto as
Swedish punch. Although this must have sounded strange to Grieg, a
champion of Norwegian national romanticism, he wrote to his parents on
April 9, 1870 that the meeting with Liszt had had infinite meaning for
him.
The piano concerto consists of three movements:
I. Allegro molto moderato (4/4 bar, A minor)
The Allegro molto moderato opens dramatically with short timpani rolls followed by heroic chords from the piano. A small march in minor is played by the wind section. The music develops into a plaintive melody that turns into a lively dance of the piano. The mood turns when a slow melody is played by the cellists. This theme takes over from the piano until it turns into a series of grotesque chords from the piano. The trumpet opens a new march melody, which is taken over by the flute, horn and piano. A repetition of the main theme follows with several variations on it. The cadenza for the piano now emerges. Steadily the orchestra moves in, after which piano and orchestra conclude the movement.
II. Adagio (3/8 bar, Des major).
The short Adagio is introduced by the strings playing a subtle melody. The piano plays serene and tuneful.
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato (2/4 bar, A minor)
The finale is ushered in by the clarinets and bassoons. The piano playing leads to a Norwegian dance called "Halling." The dance theme is taken over by the orchestra, but the piano detaches itself from it and moves into another dance. A more solemn tempo follows after this. The mood changes when the flute plays an interlude in which Grieg reviews facets of the Norwegian landscape. The mood brightens when the orchestra takes over the flute's theme and ends with a powerful coda.
The piano concerto consists of three movements:
I. Allegro molto moderato (4/4 bar, A minor)
The Allegro molto moderato opens dramatically with short timpani rolls followed by heroic chords from the piano. A small march in minor is played by the wind section. The music develops into a plaintive melody that turns into a lively dance of the piano. The mood turns when a slow melody is played by the cellists. This theme takes over from the piano until it turns into a series of grotesque chords from the piano. The trumpet opens a new march melody, which is taken over by the flute, horn and piano. A repetition of the main theme follows with several variations on it. The cadenza for the piano now emerges. Steadily the orchestra moves in, after which piano and orchestra conclude the movement.
II. Adagio (3/8 bar, Des major).
The short Adagio is introduced by the strings playing a subtle melody. The piano plays serene and tuneful.
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato (2/4 bar, A minor)
The finale is ushered in by the clarinets and bassoons. The piano playing leads to a Norwegian dance called "Halling." The dance theme is taken over by the orchestra, but the piano detaches itself from it and moves into another dance. A more solemn tempo follows after this. The mood changes when the flute plays an interlude in which Grieg reviews facets of the Norwegian landscape. The mood brightens when the orchestra takes over the flute's theme and ends with a powerful coda.
Julia Fischer with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie conducted by Matthias Pintscher.
Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto No 1 in A minor Op 33 (1872)
Saint-Saëns wrote his first cello concerto in A
minor. This was probably in homage to Robert
Schumann who also wrote a cello concerto in A minor (see my discussion
of this Schumann concerto the blog article Best Cello Concertos).
Saint-Saëns is known for his traditional approach, for example in not deviating from the standard sonata form, or from the standard concerto form. However, the 1st cello concerto consists of just one movement. But that Allegro non troppo is more or less an amalgamation of three interwoven movements. Saint-Saëns was most likely influenced here by Franz Liszt, who for example in his two piano conceros also deviated from the standard concerto form. The three sections of which the single movement consists are:
Allegro non troppo: the concerto begins unusually. Instead of the traditional orchestral introduction, the piece begins with one short chord from the orchestra, after which the cello immediately states the main theme. Soon, countermelodies flow from both the orchestra and soloist, at times the two playfully "calling and answering" each other.
Allegretto con moto: the turbulent opening movement leads into a brief but highly original minuet, in which the strings are muted, and which also contains a cello cadenza.
Tempo primo: a restatement of the opening material from the first movement opens the finale. Saint-Saëns introduces two new themes but also includes the recapitulation of the fourth theme from the first movement, tying the whole design together. After a final restatement of the opening theme, he concludes by introducing an entirely new idea for the cello.
Saint-Saëns often uses the solo cello here as a declamatory instrument. This keeps the soloist in the dramatic and musical foreground, the orchestra offering a shimmering backdrop. The music is tremendously demanding for soloists, especially in the fast third section, but this difficulty has not stopped the concerto from becoming a favorite of the great virtuoso cellists.
Saint-Saëns is known for his traditional approach, for example in not deviating from the standard sonata form, or from the standard concerto form. However, the 1st cello concerto consists of just one movement. But that Allegro non troppo is more or less an amalgamation of three interwoven movements. Saint-Saëns was most likely influenced here by Franz Liszt, who for example in his two piano conceros also deviated from the standard concerto form. The three sections of which the single movement consists are:
Allegro non troppo: the concerto begins unusually. Instead of the traditional orchestral introduction, the piece begins with one short chord from the orchestra, after which the cello immediately states the main theme. Soon, countermelodies flow from both the orchestra and soloist, at times the two playfully "calling and answering" each other.
Allegretto con moto: the turbulent opening movement leads into a brief but highly original minuet, in which the strings are muted, and which also contains a cello cadenza.
Tempo primo: a restatement of the opening material from the first movement opens the finale. Saint-Saëns introduces two new themes but also includes the recapitulation of the fourth theme from the first movement, tying the whole design together. After a final restatement of the opening theme, he concludes by introducing an entirely new idea for the cello.
Saint-Saëns often uses the solo cello here as a declamatory instrument. This keeps the soloist in the dramatic and musical foreground, the orchestra offering a shimmering backdrop. The music is tremendously demanding for soloists, especially in the fast third section, but this difficulty has not stopped the concerto from becoming a favorite of the great virtuoso cellists.
hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Bruno Philippe ∙ Christoph Eschenbach
Mahler, Piano Quartet Movement in A Minor (1876-78)
The Piano Quartet in A minor, of which - apart from sketches for a scherzo - only the first movement has survived, is the only chamber music work by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) and dates from his time as a student in Vienna.
The autograph was owned by Alma Mahler-Werfel and is now housed in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. There is evidence of a broadcast of a performance on Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk in March 1932, but thereafter the quartet movement fell into oblivion and was not rediscovered until some forty years later by Peter Ruzicka, who arranged for it to be printed by Sikorski Publishers in 1973.
The quartet movement follows sonata form, and bears the performance designation "Not too fast." Peter Ruzicka characterized it as follows: "The conclusion of the sonata movement, sinking into somber A minor, negates any convention of externality that might have been expected from a sixteen-year-old. In general, this key, which played a significant role in Mahler's work (and also in one of the youth symphonies), may well be interpreted as an unconscious anticipation of what is to come (Mahler's Sixth Symphony is also in A minor). The thematic invention acquires a thoroughly personal profile; form and gesture point recognizably to the roots of Mahler's musical consciousness at the time: to Brahms, Schumann and Schubert."
The autograph was owned by Alma Mahler-Werfel and is now housed in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. There is evidence of a broadcast of a performance on Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk in March 1932, but thereafter the quartet movement fell into oblivion and was not rediscovered until some forty years later by Peter Ruzicka, who arranged for it to be printed by Sikorski Publishers in 1973.
The quartet movement follows sonata form, and bears the performance designation "Not too fast." Peter Ruzicka characterized it as follows: "The conclusion of the sonata movement, sinking into somber A minor, negates any convention of externality that might have been expected from a sixteen-year-old. In general, this key, which played a significant role in Mahler's work (and also in one of the youth symphonies), may well be interpreted as an unconscious anticipation of what is to come (Mahler's Sixth Symphony is also in A minor). The thematic invention acquires a thoroughly personal profile; form and gesture point recognizably to the roots of Mahler's musical consciousness at the time: to Brahms, Schumann and Schubert."
Gustav Mahler Piano Quartet
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Piano Trio in A minor, op.50 (1882)
Tchaikovsky's
Piano Trio in A minor was composed between 1881 and 1882. It is a
memorial tribute to Nikolai Rubinstein, Director of the Moscow
Conservatory (brother of the pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein), so
the overall tone is mournful and solemn. It is known by the dedication "In
Memory of a Great Artist." The Piano trio is a large-scale work in two sections. Despite its nearly
50-minute performance time, it remains popular for its
breathtaking lyrical beauty and magnificent, decisive finale.
Although ostensibly composed of two movements, the second movement is so long that its final variation with coda effectively serves as the third and last movement.
I. Pezzo Elegiaco (Moderato assai - Allegro Giusto) (A minor) (approx. 18 minutes)
II. (A) Tema Con Variazoni (E major) - (B) Variazioni Finale e coda) (A major - A minor) ((A) about 15 minutes + (B) about 14 minutes = about 29 minutes)
The dark and passionate first movement, "Elegiac Piece," is structured as a traditional sonata form. It begins with a beautiful romantic melody for solo cello, which eventually returns as a funeral march. The second movement is more classical than romantic in its use of variations and the character of the theme. The pseudo-classical variations suggest a connection to Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme," but there could also be a link to the musical taste of Nikolai Rubinstein, who was a classicist.
There are eleven variations of the theme, which is introduced by the piano. In the first variation the violin presents the theme. In variation two, Più mosso, the cello sings the theme as the violin provides a countermelody. If you hear what sounds to be a "scherzo" by the piano punctuated by pizzicato's from the strings you’re in the third variation (Allegro moderato). In the fourth variation the theme is played in the minor mode (L'istesso tempo). The fifth variation sounds like a music box – piano in the upper register, with strings providing a drone. The long sixth variation is an elegant waltz, an evocation of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. In the short seventh variation (Allegro moderato) we hear heavy piano chords, punctuated by the strings. The eight variation is a Fuga. This is followed by an Andante flebile in the ninth variation, and the tenth variation is a lively Mazurka. In the eleventh variation (Moderato) the theme gradually dies away.
The finale starts out with yet another variation of the theme; festive and jubilant and developed at length (Allegro risoluto e con fuoco). This mood eventually changes abruptly - we are suddenly back again in the memorial music. The melancholy opening theme of the first movement returns heavily, bringing the whole work to a close once more with a solemn funeral march (Lugubre).
ATOS TrioAlthough ostensibly composed of two movements, the second movement is so long that its final variation with coda effectively serves as the third and last movement.
I. Pezzo Elegiaco (Moderato assai - Allegro Giusto) (A minor) (approx. 18 minutes)
II. (A) Tema Con Variazoni (E major) - (B) Variazioni Finale e coda) (A major - A minor) ((A) about 15 minutes + (B) about 14 minutes = about 29 minutes)
The dark and passionate first movement, "Elegiac Piece," is structured as a traditional sonata form. It begins with a beautiful romantic melody for solo cello, which eventually returns as a funeral march. The second movement is more classical than romantic in its use of variations and the character of the theme. The pseudo-classical variations suggest a connection to Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme," but there could also be a link to the musical taste of Nikolai Rubinstein, who was a classicist.
There are eleven variations of the theme, which is introduced by the piano. In the first variation the violin presents the theme. In variation two, Più mosso, the cello sings the theme as the violin provides a countermelody. If you hear what sounds to be a "scherzo" by the piano punctuated by pizzicato's from the strings you’re in the third variation (Allegro moderato). In the fourth variation the theme is played in the minor mode (L'istesso tempo). The fifth variation sounds like a music box – piano in the upper register, with strings providing a drone. The long sixth variation is an elegant waltz, an evocation of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. In the short seventh variation (Allegro moderato) we hear heavy piano chords, punctuated by the strings. The eight variation is a Fuga. This is followed by an Andante flebile in the ninth variation, and the tenth variation is a lively Mazurka. In the eleventh variation (Moderato) the theme gradually dies away.
The finale starts out with yet another variation of the theme; festive and jubilant and developed at length (Allegro risoluto e con fuoco). This mood eventually changes abruptly - we are suddenly back again in the memorial music. The melancholy opening theme of the first movement returns heavily, bringing the whole work to a close once more with a solemn funeral march (Lugubre).
Johannes Brahms, Double Concerto in A minor op. 102 (1887)
The Double Concerto in A minor for violin, cello, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is an important contribution to the instrumental genre of the double concerto or sinfonia concertante, which was rarely cultivated in the late Romantic period. Brahms composed this work during his summer vacation at Lake Thun in Switzerland in 1887, the same year it was premiered in Cologne with soloists Joseph Joachim and Robert Hausmann (the concerto was, in part, a gesture of reconciliation from Brahms to Joachim, following a personal and professional fall out).
Brahms' Double Concerto, composed two years after his 4th Symphony, is the composer's last orchestral work. Formally, it is - unlike the four-movement 2nd Piano Concerto - again oriented to the common three-movement concerto form. The scoring with two soloists and orchestra harks back to the double concertos of the Baroque period and the Sinfonia concertante of the Classical period. Mozart had made the not-so-disparate violin and viola soloists in a Sinfonia Concertante, and Beethoven in his Triple Concerto joined piano, violin, and cello. And now here was Brahms’ violin-cello wedding, which was predicated not on the exploitation of the soloistic couple’s contrasting individualities, but on their ability to live happily together if given the advantages of powerful and congenial materials. Indeed, the work stands out in its strong interlocking of the soloist parts with the orchestra. The motivic-thematic material is handled with great economy in a manner typical of the composer.
I. Allegro
The broad, densely worked opening movement starts with a four-bar tutti introduction, followed by a cadenza-like introduction by the two soloists, before the tutti exposition proper follows. The secondary theme intoned by the winds clearly alludes to the beginning of Giovanni Battista Viotti's 22nd Violin Concerto in A minor, a work that both Brahms and Joseph Joachim held in high esteem. The development is dominated by the soloists. In the recapitulation, the secondary theme turns to A major before a terse coda closes the movement back in A minor.
II Andante
This movement is in three parts and begins in D major. Two rising fourths in woodwinds and horns are followed by a chant-like main theme. Both soloists frequently play in parallel octaves. The middle movement in F major feeds off a chorale-like woodwind theme. The repetition of the varied D major section is followed by a coda based on the thematic material of the middle section.
III Vivace non troppo
Here the form of a sonata rondo is used, the sequence corresponds to the scheme A-B-A1-C-A2-B2-A3. The dominant theme is a catchy, restless, dance-like one, which is first intoned by the solo cello. The movement, which begins in A minor, is not without dramatic episodes, and with thirds and sixths that seem "Hungarian" in places, it increasingly changes to a more friendly major character and concludes with a short, effective coda in A major.
Violinist Julia Fischer and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott with the symphony orchestra of the Northwest German Radio, conductor Alan Gilbert.
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Concerto in A minor for Oboe and Strings [1944]
Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) was an English composer who worked in a great variety of genres, including film music - his interesting double name without a hyphen is of Welsh origin. Vaughan Williams studied at the Royal College of Music with Stanford and later Parry. Here he also befriended fellow-student Gustav Holst. Vaughan Williams early on became interested in folk song, which he collected. As a central figure in British music he wrote 9 symphonies, several large oratorios, and concerts not only for the piano, but also for rarely used solo instruments as the tuba. His oboe concerto was written for soloist Léon Goossens in 1944. It is a typically English pastoral piece and is divided into three movements: a lightweight first movement, rondo pastorale, then a short minuet and musette, and a scherzo which is the longest and weightiest movement, although it ends on a wistful note. The material for the Oboe Concerto derives from some of the same ideas that generated Vaughan Williams' magisterial Fifth Symphony, completed the year before, but here the tone becomes much more inward and intimate. Oboe and orchestra never argue, always genially supporting each other. The entire concerto is suffused with a gentle melancholy - befitting the key of A minor. But don't be fooled by the easy character of this concerto: extreme virtuosity, agility and endurance are required of the soloist and the accompanying string orchestra.
(The above note on Vaughan Williams's Oboe Concerto is based on my blog article Best Works for Oboe)
Listen to: Takuya Takashima, oboe, with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer
[With thanks to relevant public domain articles in either the German, Japanese, Dutch or English Wikipedia]