Tchaikovsky / Saint-Saens / Bruch: Cello works

I still find it striking that when we are asked for a typically romantic cello concerto, we think immediately of Dvorák, or even of Elgar, even though these works were composed respectively in 1895 and 1919, while the truly romantic cello concerti are actually those by Schumann (1850), Saint-Saëns (1870), and Tchaikovsky (1876). It would appear, then, that there are considerable misapprehensions about the nature of romanticism and the 19th century.

In any case, the last three works mentioned above do not present the cello as a primarily autumnal and nostalgic instrument. Singing, yes, expressive, yes, but also agile and flexible. Moreover, the weakness that I have for these pieces comes from their attraction for me in the intriguing counterpoint of passion and ironic elegance, enthusiasm and civilization, a style in which, on one hand, aristocracy and on the other, sensuality and passion, play into each other's hands. Under the surface, feelings of fear, regret, protest, and impossible longing play their roles, but the balance between intoxication and discipline predominates.
A simple example of that balance can be seen in the opening 8 measures of the famous theme from Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. A sort of formal decorum alternates every 2 measures with emotionalism, the other supporting pillar of the composition. Symbiosis in a nutshell.
A good example of the deceptiveness of outward appearances is the close of the central movement of the Saint-Saëns. Unexpectedly, diverse elements from the minuet theme take on new and ultimately dark and foreboding forms, and suddenly we are engulfed in psychological quicksand. Quickly the wrinkles are ironed out again, but that moment of enchantment will remain in the listener's unconscious.
We hope that you will excuse us for adding two unmistakably late-romantic works to Saint-Saëns and the 'Rococo', and perhaps you can see it in the context of counterpoint and polemic contrast. Moreover, I would never deny that the cello is also extremely well suited to this style.
Pieter Wispelwey

Saint-Saëns:
He has been called an 18th -century philosopher because of his intellectual and somewhat detached mastery of the rules of composition, and because of his historically minded approach. Camille Saint-Saëns, the musical antiquary and chameleon of 19th-century France. He was primarily interested in the musical past, in old fashioned forms, the clear outlines of classicism and an objective attitude toward one's own artistic creations. He was the great musical organizer of France; he admired and investigated the music of the 18th century, of Rameau, Gluck, and Mozart. Influenced by these composers, most of his compositions are characterized by a clearcut, classicistic compositional style : brilliant, sparkling, effectively orchestrated, typically French, elegant, but a bit cool. It is not surprising that Saint-Saëns was present at the inception of the Groupe des Six, those composers of musical irony, of serious compositions that winked one eye: of Satie, Poulenc, Honegger.

Saint-Saëns stod alone in France as a composer of traditional solo concerti. Berlioz, Chausson, and D'Indy took newer, experimental pathways; in Germany and Austria, countries which, it should be emphasized, were the true mecca of the concerto genre, Saint-Saëns's marmoreal beauty was strangely unsuccessful. In his best-known Cello concerto no. 1 in a, op. 33, Saint-Saëns daringly tried an experimental approach to form: the work consists of three movements which follow each other without interruption. The restless and darkly meditative themes of the first movement return in the third movement, giving the impression of a cyclically coherent whole. The middle panel, with muted strings, is so archaic, 'galant', and stylized that it seems like an escaped minuet from the 18th century. The finale is a varied and expanded repetition of the first movement. A new, mournful solo melody takes the cello here into its highest register. The cello seems almost to be quoting an aria from Tchaikovsky's opera, 'The Queen of Spades'. But Saint-Saëns does not give his music the time to come to a boil as his Russian colleague would have done. Faultlessly he turns the ship into calmer seas, after the somewhat stormy chain of triplets taken from the first movement. But this movement does not end in a passionate or reckless adventure story. Saint-Saëns gently closes the book of romantic tales, just in time.

Tchaikovsky:
Tchaikovsky also liked to take a backward glance at his colleagues from earlier days; most of all at his beloved Mozart. Around the time of his Fourth Symphony, he composed his Variations on a rococo theme, op. 33 (1876) in homage to Mozart. It is a colorfully orchestrated work, alternating between repose and romantic virtuosity, based on a pseudo-classical melody. After an introductory dialogue between strings and winds, the orchestra subsides into a romantic horn melody and the cello takes over the narrative. The theme expands into seven variations, separated by brief orchestral interludes. Tchaikovsky reveals himself here as a wizard of timing and contrast. At one moment one is in the midst of a wild race between cello and orchestra, and in the next variation it seems as though the music has strayed into a lyrical scene from 'Eugene Onegin'. One would almost think that here, the composer had imagined deeply felt words under his melancholy notes.

Bruch:
Some five years later, melancholy was once again the prevailing tone of a work by the German composer Max Bruch: the 'Kol Nidrei' for cello, harp, and orchestra. It is Bruch's best-known work, written during the happiest period of his life, when he was conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and married to the singer Clara Tuczek. Although he himself was not Jewish, Bruch had a particular interest in the best-known Jewish melodies, which had also become familiar in Germany outside the environment of the synagogues. The Kol Nidrei (All vows) is sung by Jews on Yom Kippur (The day of Atonement). This glorious melody is believed to have originated in the 9th century. In his romantic arrangement, Bruch has given the cello the role of the cantor. The accompanying orchestral chords alternate between lighter and darker shadings.
Clemens Romijn

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Pieter Wispelwey received his early training from Dicky Boeke and Anner Bylsma in Amsterdam followed by studies with Paul Katz in the USA and William Pleeth in Great Britain. He won first prize in the Elisabeth Everts Prize (1985), which is a biennial award endowed upon the most promising musician in the Netherlands. In 1992 he was the first cellist ever to receive the prestigious Netherlands Music Prize. Wispelwey acknowledges the financial support so generously given by Schiphol NV (Amsterdam Airport) which benefits his artistic goals. In 1997 he was awarded the Belgian Press Prize for Musician of the Year.
Wispelwey is one of the first of a generation of general specialists, performing exquisitely on either an authentic or modern cello. His expert stylistic knowledge, original and profound musical thinking, augmented by a phenomenal technique enable him to render individual, yet remarkable interpretations of the cello repertoire from J.S.Bach to Elliot Carter. For years now, he has won the hearts of critics and public alike with his unique performances of the Bach and Britten unaccompanied cello suites, and with his recitals of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas either on authentic or modern instruments.
The 1998-99 season will see him perform on every continent. The integral Bach suites will be heard in London (Wigmore Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Buenos Aires (Teatro Colón), Toronto (Ford Center) and Brussels (Royal Conservatory). In recital he performs in Vancouver, Montréal, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Milan, Lyon, Bourg, Montpellier, Paris, Monaco, Brussels, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Jerusalem, Santiago de Chile and Panama. Recent successes in the Far East have resulted in an invitation to return in the spring of 1998.
Wispelwey is in keen demand as soloist A recent fortnightÕs tour through the Australian capital cities with the Australian Chamber Orchestra was a triumph. A typical review in Melbourne's 'The Age', ushered in a cellist for the 21st century when it reported: "To say Pieter
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Wispelwey's music-making is ravishing is to utter an understatement of huge proportions...the concert did everything to confirm him as one of the world's greatest cellists. As a soloist, he played like a man possessed; his face, his whole body seemed consumed by a musical spirit whose familiar is the cello".

His recordings by the quality Dutch label Channel Classics have all been highly acclaimed by the international press, and no less than six have won international awards, including the recent CD of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata which was awarded the Choc de la Musique. Another recent recording of Vivaldi's cello concertos with Florilegium of London is already a best-seller. Wispelwey's highly successful interpretations of the Bach suites which he recorded in 1990 will be artistically revised in a new version set to appear in the summer of 1998. Plans to record the major cello concertos with distinguished orchestras and conductors will be fulfilled during the coming seasons.