Cello Concerto (Sullivan)
Encyclopedia
The Cello Concerto in D major is Arthur Sullivan
’s only concerto
. It was premièred on 24 November 1866 at the Crystal Palace
with August Manns conducting and was one of Sullivan's earliest major works.
There are three movements:
was first performed earlier in 1866, the Italian cellist Alfredo Piatti played the Schumann
Cello Concerto
, which prompted Sullivan to compose a new concerto for Piatti. None of the cello concertos frequently played today had been composed before the 1860s. The Dvořák
and Saint-Saëns
cello concertos were yet to come, as, of course, were the famous twentieth century concertos of Elgar and Shostakovich; concertos from earlier centuries such as those of Vivaldi and Haydn had fallen into neglect. Even the Schumann, composed sixteen years before Sullivan’s, was far from a regular repertoire piece at the time. A work written by the rising star of English music, played by a famous virtuoso such as Piatti, might therefore have been expected to take a firm place in the repertory, but it was played only thrice more during the composer’s lifetime.
The concerto was never published, and in 1964 the manuscript score and orchestral parts were destroyed in a fire at Chappell
's music publishers. However, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras
had conducted the work eleven years previously, and in the 1980s he made a reconstruction of the concerto, with the aid of the Sullivan expert David Mackie. A copyist’s manuscript of the solo part had survived (in the Pierpont Morgan Library in America
) which had indications of some of the orchestral scoring. The reconstructed work was given at an LSO
concert at the Barbican
, London, on 20 April 1986. Julian Lloyd Webber
was the soloist, and Mackerras conducted. The same performers recorded the work for EMI
immediately afterwards. It was also recorded in 1999 by Martin Ostertag with Klaus Arp conducting the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
and in 2000 by Paul Watkins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
with Mackerras conducting. The piece has also been performed several other times since its reconstruction.
The orchestration and the string writing for the soloist show Sullivan’s habitual grasp of the capabilities of all instruments, but few commentators have found the actual themes memorable. The Gramophone review of the 1986 recording concludes: ‘Never does the work build up to any really satisfying effect, however much the themes may initially promise’.
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
’s only concerto
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...
. It was premièred on 24 November 1866 at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
with August Manns conducting and was one of Sullivan's earliest major works.
There are three movements:
- Allegro moderato
- Andante espressivo
- Finale: molto vivaceVivaceVivace is Italian for "lively" and "vivid". It is pronounced in the International Phonetic Alphabet.Vivace is used as an Italian musical term indicating a movement that is in a lively mood ....
History
At the concert at which Sullivan’s Irish SymphonySymphony in E, Irish
The Symphony in E, first performed on March 10, 1866, was the only symphony composed by Arthur Sullivan. It is frequently called the 'Irish' Symphony.There are four movements:*Andante – Allegro, ma non troppo vivace*Andante espressivo*Allegretto...
was first performed earlier in 1866, the Italian cellist Alfredo Piatti played the Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Schumann)
The Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, by Robert Schumann was completed in a period of only two weeks, between 10 October and 24 October 1850, shortly after Schumann became the music director at Düsseldorf.The concerto was never played in Schumann's lifetime...
, which prompted Sullivan to compose a new concerto for Piatti. None of the cello concertos frequently played today had been composed before the 1860s. The Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
and Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
cello concertos were yet to come, as, of course, were the famous twentieth century concertos of Elgar and Shostakovich; concertos from earlier centuries such as those of Vivaldi and Haydn had fallen into neglect. Even the Schumann, composed sixteen years before Sullivan’s, was far from a regular repertoire piece at the time. A work written by the rising star of English music, played by a famous virtuoso such as Piatti, might therefore have been expected to take a firm place in the repertory, but it was played only thrice more during the composer’s lifetime.
The concerto was never published, and in 1964 the manuscript score and orchestral parts were destroyed in a fire at Chappell
Chappell
Chappell may refer to:Places:* Chappell, Nebraska* Chappell on the moon* Mount Chappell Island, Tasmania, Australia* North West Mount Chappell Islet, Tasmania, AustraliaPeople:* The Chappell family of Australian cricketers:...
's music publishers. However, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
had conducted the work eleven years previously, and in the 1980s he made a reconstruction of the concerto, with the aid of the Sullivan expert David Mackie. A copyist’s manuscript of the solo part had survived (in the Pierpont Morgan Library in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) which had indications of some of the orchestral scoring. The reconstructed work was given at an LSO
LSO
-Computers:* Large segment offload, a technology for reducing CPU overhead* Local Shared Object, a HTTP cookie-like data entity used by Adobe Flash Player-Organisations:* Limburg Symphony Orchestra or Limburgs Symfonie Orkest, a Dutch orchestra...
concert at the Barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, London, on 20 April 1986. 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...
was the soloist, and Mackerras conducted. The same performers recorded the work for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
immediately afterwards. It was also recorded in 1999 by Martin Ostertag with Klaus Arp conducting the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra is a radio orchestra located in the German cities of Baden-Baden and Freiburg...
and in 2000 by Paul Watkins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
with Mackerras conducting. The piece has also been performed several other times since its reconstruction.
Musical analysis
The proportions of the concerto are unusual: the first movement – customarily the longest and most symphonically structured movement of a concerto – plays for only three and a half minutes. The other two movements run about seven minutes each.- The Allegro opens with a characteristic burst of energy, but then it ‘simply fades out just when one is expecting the second subject.’ It segues into the next movement, by way of a brief cadenza.
- The slow movement, a sweetly songful andante, was praised at the time of the première, and it was suggested that it should be transcribed for church organ. The gentle mood makes way, half way through the movement, for a few assertive strophic bars before the mild andante theme returns.
- The finale returns to the energetic vein of the opening of the concerto. Once the brisk mood is established Sullivan brings back the exuberant opening theme of the concerto, before a gentler interlude followed by some energetic but not conspicuously tuneful passagework leading to a lively variant of the opening bars of the finale and, after some further bars of passagework, a conventional closing flourish.
The orchestration and the string writing for the soloist show Sullivan’s habitual grasp of the capabilities of all instruments, but few commentators have found the actual themes memorable. The Gramophone review of the 1986 recording concludes: ‘Never does the work build up to any really satisfying effect, however much the themes may initially promise’.