Cello Concerto (Glass)
Encyclopedia
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
in 2001. It was one of the first concerti
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
of the twenty-first century. The piece was commissioned by William and Rebecca Krueger, friends of the composer, for the 50th birthday of cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
. A typical performance takes 20-25 minutes. The work is paired with the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra
Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra
The Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra is a double timpani concerto written by Philip Glass in 2000. It is paired with the Cello Concerto on Vol. I of Glass' Concerto Project, a set of six concerti written by the composer...
as part of Glass' Concerto Project
The Concerto Project
The Concerto Project is a collection of concerti written by Philip Glass. The series was begun in 2000 and contains eight works, the most famous of which is probably the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra...
, a series of collected concerti by the composer. The cello concerto is among the most famous of Glass' works for a solo instrument.
Classification
The work has noticeable "classical" (as Glass would describe his current musical style) elements in addition to minimalistMinimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
ones; while it still projects many of the minimalist aspects which characterize Glass' music, it has audible differences, ushering a new look to composition in Glass' more recent musical approach.
Structure
The concerto is in the standard three movement form (this is notable because, as with the earlier Violin ConcertoViolin Concerto No. 1 (Glass)
Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1 was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra for soloist Paul Zukofsky and premiered in New York City on 5 April 1987. The work was composed with Glass's late father in mind. The piece quickly became one of Glass's most popular works...
, Glass did not intend for the work to conform to conventional concerto structure as much as the piece simply developed that way). The three movements comply with the traditional fast-slow-fast tempo configuration.
First movement
The beginning movement opens with the celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
directly introducing the first theme, a dark motif
Motif
Motif may refer to the following:In creative work:* Motif , a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes* Motif , any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance...
which would vary throughout the piece. The cello then exchanges bursts with the brass and returns to the original theme. We then hear a new, more placid melody, introduced by both the cello and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. The movement progresses as the orchestra appears in full, developing into a fluid yet compact climax, interspersed with periodic cello arpeggios. After several minutes of intense orchestral involvement, the piece suddenly quietens and the second theme is eerily restated on the cello in very high register. The introductory material is then recapitulated by the woodwinds and triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, with the cello providing a repeating undertone. The first movement closes softly and mysteriously.
Second movement
The second movement is the concerto's calmest, punctuated by a soft, lyrical flute theme (surprisingly peaceful for Glass). The movement concludes in a similar manner to the first, with a dark, quiet close.Third movement
Abruptly, the third movement jolts into play with a short, unexpected burst of the brass, followed immediately by the cello stating the familiar opening theme from the first movement. Afterwards, the cello rises in volume until it unexpectedly fades and the orchestra takes over, progressing with repeating trumpetsTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and rapid bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(not unlike the brass repetition of Mars, the Bringer of War in Holst's
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
); this builds into a climactic moment in the movement, an ecstatic, dance-like section with layered harmonies, punctuated by distant clangs of a bell. Afterward, the cello reappears and works with the orchestra until it returns to another crescendo, restating the first climax. Then, with the tambourine continuing the dance-like feel, the orchestra rises and falls, with the cello spiralling downward; the orchestra plays rapid, whirling notes until it reaches resolution. The ghostlike feel of the earlier movements forgotten, the work concludes with distinctive finality, a four-note bang similar to that of Rachmaninov's in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3.
Premiere
Glass wrote the concerto to be performed first in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. The piece was premiered at the Beijing Music Festival with the China Philharmonic Orchestra
China Philharmonic Orchestra
The China Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China on May 25, 2000, based on the previous "China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra"...
, with Webber as soloist and Yu Long conducting, on October 21, 2001. The orchestra had been founded the year before and this concerto was the first work that it played by a major living composer. Glass could not attend the performance; in an interview, he revealed that he subsequently did not attend a playing of the concerto until six years after it premiered. It is relatively popular, but has had little time to attain the level of attention and analysis as some of Glass' earlier concerti or other large-scale symphonic works. However, listeners continue to increase.
The Concerto Project
Main article: The Concerto ProjectThe Concerto Project
The Concerto Project is a collection of concerti written by Philip Glass. The series was begun in 2000 and contains eight works, the most famous of which is probably the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra...
The cello concerto was one of a series of eight concerti designated as part of The Concerto Project, started in 2000. The work was preceded by the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra
Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra
The Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra is a double timpani concerto written by Philip Glass in 2000. It is paired with the Cello Concerto on Vol. I of Glass' Concerto Project, a set of six concerti written by the composer...
(2000), the latter of which is paired with the cello concerto in the recording Project Vol. 1. Glass wrote the decisively neo-baroque Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra in 2002, and the Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis and Clark in 2004. Other parts of the series include the Concerto Grosso and the Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra. Note that the Violin Concerto No. 2
Violin Concerto No. 2 (Glass)
Philip Glass' Violin Concerto No. 2, titled The American Four Seasons, received its world premiere in Toronto on December 9, 2009, with violinist Robert McDuffie, for whom the work was composed, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under conductor Peter Oundjian...
is not listed as part of the Project; it was written eight years after the cello concerto. The Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
The Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is a piano concerto by Philip Glass. The composer wrote the work in 2000. On commission by the Festival Klangspuren in Stuttgart, it was written for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra...
, often referred to as Piano Concerto No. 1, is also not to be confused as part of the Project; although written in early 2000, around the time of the series' composition, it is not included in the group.
There are currently three volumes of the Project, with six concerti indicated as members of the series; Glass is in the process of composing the fourth and final set of concerti. The future contents of Vol. IV have not yet been specified.
Recordings
- 2001: Julian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
(cello) and Gerard SchwarzGerard SchwarzGerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
(with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
), recorded 2004, released 2004 on The Concerto Project Vol. I (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra" (20:47).
See also
- Violin ConcertoViolin Concerto No. 1 (Glass)Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1 was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra for soloist Paul Zukofsky and premiered in New York City on 5 April 1987. The work was composed with Glass's late father in mind. The piece quickly became one of Glass's most popular works...
- MinimalismMinimalismMinimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
- Julian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
- ClassicismClassicismClassicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
- List of compositions by Philip Glass
- China Philharmonic OrchestraChina Philharmonic OrchestraThe China Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China on May 25, 2000, based on the previous "China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra"...
External links
- www.philipglass.com: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
- Webber's recording of the concerto, part of the Concerto Project