BRUCH VIOLIN CONCERTO NO . 1 WITH JONATHAN CARNEY
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
By Kori Hill
Zoltán Kodály
Born December 16 , 1882 in Kecskemét , Hungary Died March 6 , 1967 in Budapest , Hungary
DANCES OF GALÁNTA [ 1933 ]
In 1906 , Kodály finished his dissertation on strophic form in Hungarian folk song . As his career as a composer and educator progressed , this tradition would become a key part of his aesthetic . Dances of Galánta is one such example . Composed in 1933 as a commission by the Budapest Philharmonic Society for their 80 th anniversary , Kodály was inspired by the musical environment of his childhood : he had spent some of his early years growing up in Galánta ( now in Slovakia ), where his father was stationmaster for the railroad . As he included in the work ’ s score :
Galánta is a small Hungarian market-town known to the travelers from Vienna to Budapest , where the composer passed seven years of his childhood . There existed at that time a famous Gypsy band which has since disappeared . Their music was the first “ orchestral sonority ” which came to the ear of the child .
The forebears of these Gypsies were already known more than a hundred years ago . Around the year 1800 some books of Hungarian dances were published in Vienna , one of which contained music “ after several Gypsies from Galántha .” They have preserved the old Hungarian traditions . In order to continue it the composer has taken his principal subjects from these old editions .
Dances of Galánta combines Romantic orchestral textures with the Hungarian verbunkos music-dance form . Popular until the mid- 1800s , verbunkos was a military recruiting tool , often accompanied by bands of Romani musicians . Verbunkos were divided into two sections : a lassú ( slow , martial introduction ) and a friss ( an exuberant final section ). Kodály ’ s Dances of Galánta is a union of this form with a rondo structure : a brief motive serves as the stoic main theme , reappearing throughout the work and leading to a whirling , dance-like second section that brings the work to an exuberant close .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , timpani , percussion , and strings .
Max Bruch
Born January 6 , 1838 in Cologne , Germany Died October 2 , 1920 in Berlin , Germany
VIOLIN CONCERTO NO . 1 IN G MINOR [ 1866 ]
“ Every two weeks somebody comes along and wants to run through my — first concerto . I ’ ve even become surly and told them ‘ I can ’ t listen to this concerto any more . Do you suppose I ’ ve only written one concerto ? Go off and play one of my other concertos for a change ; they ’ re just as good , perhaps even better !” Unfortunately for Max Bruch , his Violin Concerto No . 1 in G minor is his most well-known and performed work , often violinists ’ first “ mature ” concerto .
Bruch initially wanted to call the work a fantasy . He was convinced by Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim to call it a concerto , but the work ’ s form shows why “ fantasy ” would be a better descriptor . In Vorspiel . Allegro moderato , Bruch only hints at the main theme . The brief question in the orchestra and the soloist ’ s rhapsodic answer leads to the body of the movement , where the theme is revealed to be angular and aggressive , followed by an aching , lyrical secondary theme , and a ferocious variation of the main theme that connects to the Adagio . This first movement is more an introduction than its own entity , and the structure of the second movement reinforces this . After a lyrical introduction , the main theme is stated clearly in the soloist which develops through new melodies and variations of the primary material . The orchestra is primarily supportive , moments of melodic layering between violin , flute , and horn . In the Finale . Allegro energico , the rhythmic inference of Hungarian dance speaks to Joachim ’ s influence on the work . While dance forms had influenced the last movements of concertos since the Baroque period , it was concertos like Bruch ’ s , Tchaikovsky ’ s , and Dvorak ’ s that more fully leaned into the rustic qualities of these traditions .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , timpani , and strings .
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