 | No. 188 of the ongoing ITYWLTMT series of audio montages can be found in our archives at https://archive.org/details/pcast188 |
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Concerto or symphony – what can we
make of the sinfonia concertante?
In the
Baroque period, the differences between a concerto and a sinfonia (the
forerunner of what would become the "classical symphony") were
initially not all that clear. As we hinted to in our last couple of montages, Antonio
Vivaldi wrote "concertos" both for soloists and for “concertino”
detachments, the latter being stylistically more or less indistinguishable from
his "sinfonias" – these are more aptly referred to as concerti
grossi; and we will get to those a couple of Fridays from now.
By the
Classical period, both the symphony and the concerto had acquired more definite
meanings, and the concerto grosso had disappeared altogether. This led in the
last decades of the 18th century to attempts to combine the two genres, such as
those by Johann Christian Bach (the so-called "London Bach"
and youngest son of Johann Sebastian). He published some symphonies
concertantes in Paris from the early 1770s on.
The Sinfonia
Concertante genre is, thus, a mixture of the symphony and the concerto
genres. It is a concerto in that soloists are on prominent display, and a
symphony in that the soloists are nonetheless discernibly a part of the total
ensemble and not preeminent. Among the most performed piece in this genre is by
Mozart, for violin and viola (K. 364).
Today’s
podcast presents three sinfonie concertanti from three different eras. Joseph
Haydn, the acknowledge “perfecter” of the classical symphony wrote symphonies
with long soloist parts, especially early in his career, such as the "Time
of Day" symphonies (Matin, Midi et Soir, nos 6, 7 amd
8). These are, however, rightfully considered symphonies rather than sinfonie
concertanti. Haydn did leave us with a Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello,
Oboe and Bassoon, dating from his visit to London, in a friendly challenge to
his former student Ignaz Pleyel, who also stayed in London at the time, and
whose works in the genre were highly popular. This explains why the piece is
assigned a number from Volume I in the Hoboken catalog (No. 105, right after
the last of the “London” symphonies).
Few
composers still called their compositions sinfonia concertante after the
classical music era. However, some works such as Berlioz's Harold en
Italie (for viola and orchestra) approach the genre. Beethoven did not
write anything designated as a sinfonia concertante, although some feel his Triple
Concerto qualifies as one. By the end of the 19th century, several French
composers had started using the sinfonia concertante technique in symphonic
poems, for example, Saint-Saëns uses a violin in Danse macabre . Edouard
Lalo's best known work, the Symphonie espagnole, is in fact a
sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra. A work in the same vein, but
with the piano taking the "concertante" part is Vincent d'Indy's
Symphony on a French Mountain Air, which is part of today’s podcast.
Composed
soon after the War Requiem, Britten’s Cello Symphony is a
concertante work devised for the great Russian cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich.
As the title suggests, throughout the work the soloist and orchestra are
treated on equal terms, sharing all the important melodic material. Although
the cello is omnipresent, the final two movements are linked by an intricate
cello cadenza.
I think you will love this music too.
