{ Program Notes
finale to the orchestra so that “at least I
can wipe the sweat off my brow” after
the daunting solo cadenza that concludes
the third movement.
Defying first-movement conventions,
movement one is a quiet, meditative
Nocturne. It gradually rises from the lower
depths of orchestra and violin, though dark
instrumental colors will be emphasized
throughout. This is profoundly melancholy, even anguished music: an aria for
violin with the soloist as a lonely insomniac
singing to a sleeping, indifferent world.
Darkest woodwinds — clarinets with bass
clarinet, bassoon with contrabassoon—
paint deep shadows around her. The bleak
ending, with tolling harp and celesta accompanying the soloist floating on a fragile
high harmonic note, is unforgettable.
The savage second-movement Scherzo
is a Fellini-esque circus of the absurd.
“Scherzo” means “joke,” and this is a
harshly sarcastic joke indeed. This mood
is so common in Shostakovich that it
seems the composer’s mocking, selfprotective response to the regime he lived
under. And in fact, we hear his famous
signature motive DSCH: the notes D,
S (the German designation for E-flat),
C and H (German usage for B-natural).
About a minute into the movement, a malicious-sounding ensemble of woodwinds
mocks the violinist with this motive, and
later the violinist bitterly echoes it. The
beleaguered soloist flies through a crazed,
driven dance of exacting virtuosity.
As he would in other major works,
Shostakovich turned to the Baroque
passacaglia form for his powerful Fminor third movement, the Concerto’s
emotional center. The passacaglia is a
repeating melodic-harmonic pattern,
usually in the bass. Shostakovich’s theme,
which we hear at the outset in cellos and
basses accented by timpani, is 17 measures
long and broken into choppy two-measure
phrases. Gradually this pattern travels
through the orchestra; even the soloist
eventually takes it up in fierce doublestopped octaves. Over it, the soloist and
other instruments weave heartbreakingly
expressive melodies. The movement concludes with one of the longest and most
taxing (both physically and emotionally)
20 O v ertur e |
www. bsomusic .org
cadenzas ever written for a violinist; it is
almost a movement in itself and constitutes the soloist’s commentary on the
entire concerto. This cadenza gradually
accelerates into the final movement.
The spirit of mockery returns in the
Allegro con brio finale, titled “Burlesca.”
But here the mood seems less bitter than
earlier: more a wild folk dance over a
driving rhythmic ostinato. Midway, the
passacaglia theme makes a brief, mocking appearance in clarinet, horn, and the
hard-edged clatter of xylophone. Again,
shrill woodwinds dominate this finale,
while the soloist hurtles through a nonstop display of virtuosity, culminating
in a final acceleration to Presto.
Instrumentation: Three flutes, piccolo, three
oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass
clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four
horns, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celeste
and strings.
His swan song,
Symphonic Dances is a
retrospective work that sums
up Rachmaninoff’s musical
and personal philosophy.
Symphonic Dances, opus 45
Sergei Rachmaninoff
By NM