Unsung Romantic Cello Concertos

[Alan Howe]

Quite, Gareth. If I can search Polish sites without any knowledge of the language....

[Kriton]

Or, a lifelong passion for romantic classical music could also convince one of the value of learning the basics of the German language...

[Gareth Vaughan]

And with German, only the slimmest knowledge is required to find one's way around library catalogues. Most of the key words are so similar to English ones... and a modicum of commonsense, coupled with tenacity, usually serves to reveal the sense.

[Amphissa]

 
I am really quite amazed and mystified that the exceptionally fine Cello Concerto No. 2 by Villa-Lobos, has not been mentioned here. I strongly encourage you to seek it out. If you think you know what it will sound like because you've heard Bachianas Brasileiras, well, it doesn't.

My favorite recording of this is from a radio broadcast of a live performance by Meneses. I have not yet heard the CD by Schmid, so I can't comment on that CD, but I like the CD featuring both cello concertos by Meneses better than the recording by Diaz.

[TerraEpon]

Yeah but is it "romantic"? I remember listening to the two concerti once and they were pretty....spikey.

[Alan Howe]

Well, the Villa-Lobos isn't 'Romantic'; it's neo-Romantic in the same sort of way Prokofiev is.

[eschiss1]

Well, the Villa-Lobos isn't 'Romantic'; it's neo-Romantic in the same sort of way Prokofiev is.

I'm not sure where I would place the large-scale works of his I know (I think I've heard one of the cello concertos and some of the piano concertos in the Decca recording, but I'm most familiar with some of the string quartets and have heard a few of his symphonies) - around Bartók and Stravinsky maybe??... (and I'm remembering one review in Fanfare- of a recording of the quartets, I think (my favorites among his works )- that mentioned - paraphrasing - a tendency to close with what Stravinsky would have sneered at as "commercial" chords, so the comparison with Stravinsky, which I stand by, does feel odd.)  Prokofiev's there too, though. I'm not meaning to suggest derivativeness (I'm not suggesting you were either) and I do think he was a very good composer indeed (fwiw!)
Eric

[eschiss1]

Has Molique's (D major, and unquestionably Romantic ) cello concerto been recorded commercially yet? I have heard a radio tape only.  I'm impressed, though. (Cello and piano reduction at
http://imslp.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto,_Op.45_(Molique,_Bernhard) )
Eric

[Amphissa]

 
Like I say, if you think you know what Villa-Lobos sounds like, his 2nd cello concerto ain't it. The 2nd cello concerto is not "spiky" at all. It is quite lyrical and not as disjointed as a lot of his music. And it is nothing like Prokofiev (thank goodness).

[TerraEpon]

Like I say, if you think you know what Villa-Lobos sounds like, his 2nd cello concerto ain't it. The 2nd cello concerto is not "spiky" at all. It is quite lyrical and not as disjointed as a lot of his music. And it is nothing like Prokofiev (thank goodness).

Could be misremembering. Or maybe only remembering the first *shrug*.

Some of his music is as romantic as it can be (5th Bachianas of course, and other stuff like Song of the Black Swan) but others, yeah a comparison to Prokofiev is not a bad one. His music, while still retaining a sense of his own style, really can be all over the map.

[Amphissa]

 
I decided to pull this out and play it again. It is more "modernist" than I remembered. Not "spiky" or abrasive, but certainly not Dvorak or Myaskovsky. Still, it's probably not on target for this group, as it is not firmly in the romantic camp.

[Alan Howe]

I didn't say the Villa Lobos was like Prokofiev; I said it was neo-Romantic in the same sort of way Prokofiev is. I think that is manifestly true.

[Amphissa]

 
And I also like Atterberg's cello concerto quite a lot. It's probably one of the more lyrical works he composed. And it's nothing like Prokofiev or Villa-Lobos. 

[Norbit]

Has Molique's (D major, and unquestionably Romantic ) cello concerto been recorded commercially yet? I have heard a radio tape only.  I'm impressed, though. (Cello and piano reduction at
http://imslp.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto,_Op.45_(Molique,_Bernhard) )
Eric

I have wanted to hear this concerto for a long time but I haven't been able to find a recording of it. When was it broadcast?

[Hovite]

Cello folk might also like to try out a lovely 1910 concerto by Tirolean composer Josef Pembauer. It is available from the Tiroler Landesmuseen.

I recommend this disc. It is a generous 77 minutes consisting of a full concert of overture, concerto, and symphony, and none of them are mere fillers. The notes are mostly in German, but the cover has a portrait of the composer by Gustav Klimt that neatly reflects the composer's style: not so much romantic as representational, and not entirely serious. The Spring Overture reminded me of Cowen's Butterfly's Ball. The symphony, "In the Tirol", is four movements, helpfully entitled Morning, Idyll, Play and Dance in the Village, and Happy Homecoming. The second movement in particular shows the influence of Bruckner, but overall the style is far lighter, nearer to Hänsel und Gretel. The more classical cello concerto was written a full thirty years after the overture, and is described on the final page of the booklet as "a serene late work from his time of maturity".