Bruce Skelton: Violin

Program Notes

Beethoven Violin Concerto:

I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo: Allegro

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Beethoven’s (1770–1827) sole violin concerto is considered one of the greatest of the repertoire. As musicologist and violinist Robin Stowell succinctly put it (quoting German pedagogue Andreas Moser):

A model of melodic invention, spaciousness of design, sheer clarity, and logic of organization, Beethoven’s Concerto has gained a place in the repertory of “every violinist who aims at being more than the mere virtuoso” and “has become the touchstone marking the maturity of the performing artist.” It took over 40 years, however, for the work to be appreciated as such. Completed hastily, the Concerto was premiered by Austrian violinist Franz Clement on December 23, 1806, to lukewarm reception, with most critics finding it overly long and idiosyncratic. Thereafter, it was performed infrequently, until a 12-year-old Joseph Joachim played it on May 27, 1844, in a landmark concert with the London Philharmonic conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Joachim’s interpretation and his subsequent championing of Beethoven’s Concerto all over Europe during his career eventually turned the tide of public opinion on the work—its unusual aspects now heartily admired—and helped to cement its place in the violin repertory.

In form and style, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is a singular work for its time, but it was also a product of a myriad of influences that the composer creatively brought to bear on its genesis. As Stowell has revealed in his study of the piece, one of the composer’s considerations was Clement’s playing style, which “is reported to have been graceful and lyrical rather than vigorous, with a comparatively small yet expressive tone, and an assured left-hand technique, especially in the higher registers of the instrument.” As evident in the general character of the solo part, singing lyricism is emphasized over virtuoso display (though it’s not without its technical challenges). Furthermore, much of the concerto is set in the violin’s high register; while highlighting Clement’s skills, Beethoven may also have been taking advantage of recent updates to the instrument’s design at this time, with a narrower and more elongated neck enabling greater facility of the left hand. 

He also absorbed—and advanced—in his Violin Concerto many elements from the concertos of the French violin school, especially those by its most important member Giovanni Battista Viotti. Beethoven particularly admired the march-like quality of the first movements of Viotti’s Parisian concertos, which have a certain sense of grandeur and seriousness reminiscent of French “revolutionary” music. In his own concerto, this military-esque aspect is reflected in the martial rhythm played by the timpani that opens the first movement and is an important recurring motif throughout; listen for its reappearance in various guises, as a melodic idea or a figure accompanying the main themes, as well as its development through transformation. 

The first movement proceeds in an expansive sonata-form structure, in which the main themes are presented, developed, and recapped, but Beethoven’s conception is notably more “symphonic” for a concerto than that of his contemporaries; as Stowell observes, “greater emphasis is placed on thematic development and structural coherence” which is driven by the orchestra, while the soloist embellishes or comments on this material in fantasia-like ruminations. Intriguingly, Beethoven did not provide a cadenza for this movement, nor for the other two movements where he indicated opportunities for one. The cadenzas by Joachim are the most often played, but tonight’s soloist is known to perform those by Fritz Kriesler, with the one for the first movement remarkable for its culmination on the first and last themes combined in counterpoint. 

For the Larghetto, Beethoven used an unconventional variation form structure, likely inspired by Viotti’s experiments with the chaconne—a musical form consisting of variations over a recurring ground bass theme—in the slow movements of several of his concertos. Muted orchestral violins present a serene theme, after which variations appear on horns and clarinet, then bassoon, while the solo violin plays increasingly elaborate decorations that climaxes with the third variation on full orchestra. The progress of the variations is interrupted by the solo violin introducing a new theme—this one even more introspective, as if in deep spiritual meditation—and continues its musings into the fourth variation over violins plucking the outline of the theme. Later, the soloist brings back the second theme in more embellished form. Suddenly, an imposing orchestral passage bursts forth to prepare the way for the solo cadenza, which leads directly into the finale—a lively “hunting” rondo alternating a chassé-like principal theme with contrasting episodes. The first of these is a spirited rustic dance, featuring bariolage passages on solo violin, with a cadenza preceding the return of the theme. At the centre of the movement, a minor-mode episode provides striking contrast. Here, the violin sings an elegant tune which is taken up by the bassoon as the soloist decorates it with florid arabesques. Later, the rustic dance returns and is capped with another solo cadenza that leads into an unusually long coda with a brilliant finish.

Program note by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD 

L’Arlesienne Suites I,II:

Best known as the composer of the opera Carmen, Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was considered a child prodigy, entering the National Conservatory in Paris at age nine. An early death cut short his promising career, but the music he left is tuneful, approachable, and among the most frequently programmed classical music.

Bizet was born in Paris, the son of amateur musicians. He was able to read and write music at age four, and after his enrollment at the National Conservatory, he earned a series of prizes for music theory, organ, piano, and composition. His Symphony in C, written at age seventeen while he was still a student at the conservatory, is considered a masterwork.

The incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne (The Girl from Arles) was composed in 1872. The play was a failure, with critics complaining that there were "too many overtures." In other words, Bizet's music overpowered the drama. Fortunately, Bizet rescued some of the best music and assembled two suites. 

We have re-arranged the order of the selections to follow along more closely to the storyline of the play:

Overture suite 1, no.1
Pastorale suite 2, no. 1
Intermezzo suite 2, no. 2
Minuetto suite 1, no. 2
Menuet suite 2, no. 3
Carillon suite 1, no. 4
Adagietto suite 1, no. 3
Farandole suite 2, no. 4