Kabalevsky Cello concerto.

[FBerwald]

The Kabalevsky Opus 77 is listed as his Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor (1964) ....while the naxos recording its listed as Cello Concerto No. 2 in G major. Is it in C minor or G Major ?

[Kriton]

How about listening to it?

[Alan Howe]

Neither: Grove has No.1 (Op.49) as being in G minor and No.2 (Op.77) as being in C major. But other sources seem to disagree, so yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice...

[chill319]

YoYo Ma's recording of No. 1 is listed as being in G minor. Yet the excerpts from both first and last movements available for listening on Amazon have a tonic of C! This could be pure coincidence, although in the case of a Kabalevsky last movement, it makes one wonder...

[JimL]

A quick look at a score would settle things pretty succinctly, I should think!

[Hofrat]

Naxos has been known to make errors in reporting what is on the CD's.  I have a Naxos CD which was supposse to hve 5 symphonies of Franz Beck, but in reality it has 3 symphonies of Beck and 2 of Gossec. 

II also have a CD from ASV which was suppose to have 9 overtures by Mehul, but in reality there were only 8 because because one was played twice.

So, with the purchase of any CD there is always a chance that the recording is not exactly what is written on the cover or in the CD liner.

[Amphissa]

 
No. 1, op. 49 is in G minor
No. 2, op. 77 is in C minor

[Alan Howe]

A COPAC libraries search has No. 1 as being in G minor and No.2 as being in C major (multiple times).

[Amphissa]

 
COPAC also lists almost 1,000 records for Rachmaninov vs 2500 for Rachmaninoff.



Guess I'll just have to listen to it myself. Not an easy thing for me, as I detest the man.

[eschiss1]

A COPAC libraries search has No. 1 as being in G minor and No.2 as being in C major (multiple times).

I've seen C minor and C major used.  I forget if the main theme of the first movement is clear in modality, but it's hardly the only work of the 20th century where this ambiguity occurs...

(I'm not sure where anyone gets the idea, for instance, that Bortkiewicz's first piano concerto is in B-flat major. Its first movement main theme clearly centers around B-flat minor, for instance.  Egon Wellesz's first three symphonies are listed as "in C", "in E-flat" and "in A" and pretty clearly have minor-mode first movements likewise - the second symphony a minor-mode finale too, though both outer movements end in major.)
(Ah well. Haven't a clue unfortunately - sorry.)
Eric

[TerraEpon]

My mega-composer-workslist-book lists G minor for #1 and C minor for #2. The source is a book simply entitied "Kabalevsky" from 1974 (though the author apparently sometimes used New Grove as well).

[JimL]

(I'm not sure where anyone gets the idea, for instance, that Bortkiewicz's first piano concerto is in B-flat major. Its first movement main theme clearly centers around B-flat minor, for instance.)

I did quite an extensive analysis of that movement in the days of the old Forum.  The first theme actually modulates from E-flat minor to a cadence in B-flat major (the dominant of E-flat, but the tonic of the piece).  It is basically an extended plagal cadence with a minor inflection.  There are actually two themes in the first subject, and both of them follow this progression.  The secondary material, IIRC, first appears in D, and the movement ends in B-flat.  So the tonality actually is B-flat Major.  It's just an extremely melancholy B-flat Major. 

[eschiss1]

(I'm not sure where anyone gets the idea, for instance, that Bortkiewicz's first piano concerto is in B-flat major. Its first movement main theme clearly centers around B-flat minor, for instance.)

I did quite an extensive analysis of that movement in the days of the old Forum.  The first theme actually modulates from E-flat minor to a cadence in B-flat major (the dominant of E-flat, but the tonic of the piece).  It is basically an extended plagal cadence with a minor inflection.  There are actually two themes in the first subject, and both of them follow this progression.  The secondary material, IIRC, first appears in D, and the movement ends in B-flat.  So the tonality actually is B-flat Major.  It's just an extremely melancholy B-flat Major.

I sit corrected and edified (without sarcasm intended), and thanks. That's an interesting technique. There was a quartet I was skimming at IMSLP that opened with a similar cadence (a very extended IV-I, G minor - D minor in its case I think). My apologies for the digression, though!
Eric

[Alan Howe]

COPAC also lists almost 1,000 records for Rachmaninov vs 2500 for Rachmaninoff.

Whether Rachmaninov or Rachmaninoff (or Rakhmaninoff, or any other combination), or Kabalevsky, Kabaleffsky, Kabalevski, or any other spelling, it'd just be good to know what the blessed score reveals - unless we are in ambiguous major/minor territory here...

[Amphissa]

 
Chausson's symphony is another of those works. It's like he can't decide if he's writing in major or minor, constantly going back and forth. Drives my wife nuts.

I see a lot of recordings for which no key is given at all in the notes. That's probably the best approach anyway. Most people don't care what key a work is in when listening to it, only whether they like what they are hearing.

That said, I've always preferred music written in minor. Major is fine for happy ditties and cheesy hokum, but I prefer sturm und drang and drama. Probably due to being bombarded by too much Mozart fluff in my youth.