Analogies
and differences in the two beautiful Concertos for Violin and
Orchestra by some of the most original composers of their time:
Mozart and Viotti.
Performed by Maestro Uto Ughi
and the Chamber Orchestra of Santa Cecilia.
Excerpts
from the original CD booklet:
Music
has often displayed marked independence in relation to its own
time - it has frequently given rise to its own history which
has then become general history. Its universal language has
on the one hand helped to broaden the world but at the same
time it has foreshadowed future developments and brought people
closer together. The "creators" of music, its "players",
and its "virtuosos" have all been the bearers of a
new way of thinking, a new way of being, and a new way of feeling,
and in moving from place to place have played a vital role in
processes of unification. One thinks of Viotti who left his
own city in Vercelli to move to Paris and then to London; or
of Mozart and Brahms who as young men
engaged in very long and adventurous journeys which took them
to every corner of Eurospe. Unconsciously, they had already
created a united Eurospe through their music, and people had
already accepted that Eurospe when communicating their music
from mouth to mouth.
Viotti:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor n. 22
Viotti's production as a composer was closely linked to his
experience as a violinist, and therefore largely centred around
the use of this instrument. He was able to bring out all its
technical and expressive capacities. Viotti's output was vast
and included twenty-nine concertos for violin and orchestra,
two concert symphonies, an infinity of duets, trios and quartets,
and works for the pianoforte. The concertos which he composed
when he was in Paris greatly interested Rode and Kreutzer, influenced
Beethoven, inspired Mozart, and certainly left their mark on
traditions of violin music in Germany.
The very
famous "Concerto in A minor n. 22" won the later praise
of Brahms who emphasised and appreciated
its freedom of imaginative invention in a letter (June 1878)
written to Clara Schumann. This work was composed between 1785
and 1789 and was probably performed for the first time in London
during a series of concertos organised by the impressario Johann
Peter Salomon which were held at Hanover Square. This date may
correspond to that of Viotti's actual debut (London, 7 February).
The first
movement (moderato) begins with a graceful theme which gives
way to, and prepares the way for, the entrance of the soloist.
This takes place after a cadence which shifts the concerto into
the major key. The second movement in E major (adagio) is of
great expressive intensity and is largely dominated by the soloist.
The third movement (agitato assai) begins in a rather dramatic
way and leads on to a development where Viotti's inventiveness
is displayed to the full. The part of the solo violin is very
difficult in its execution and requires great technical ability
and a capacity for agility and velocity - those qualities which
we identify with the "virtuoso".
Mozart:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D KV.271a
It is rather difficult to talk about the output of Mozart -
there is so much of it that one runs the risk of omitting something
which is important. His last four or five years of life were
enough to fill the life of any human being. These were years
of isolation and poverty and his only consolation was the help
of a few faithful friends. This was a period which witnessed
rare moments of success and fragile hopes which were soon wiped
out by seering disappointments. However, during these last few
years of Mozart's life his art reached the highest level of
perfection - "Don Giovanni", "Jupiter",
"Cosi fan Tutte", "Flauto Magico", "La
Clemenza di Tito", and "Requiem", to list only
a few.
Moving
from one home to another, these were years crowded with many
events of alternating fortune: the death of his son Johann Thomas
Leopold, the success of "Figaro" in Prague, the death
of his father which was followed shortly afterwards by that
of his daughter Theresia, his serious economic difficulties,
the concert for Frederick William II, the birth, and then death
after only an hour, of the much waited for Anna Maria, the vain
search for pupils whose fees could have reduced his debts, the
blow of being rejected at the time of the celebrations for the
coronation of the Emperor Leopold II, the dinner of farewell
given to Haydn on his departure for London...
Mozart
probably wrote the "Concerto in D minor K27/a" in
1777, another year of troubles and upheavals for the composer.
This was the year of the break with Archbishop Colloredo under
whom he had produced much unexceptional music which, fortunately
enough, was interrupted by the occasional masterpiece. The original
manuscript of this concerto has been lost. It is said that it
was once owned by Francois Antonine Habeneck, the conductor
of a Parisian orchestra and a famous composer and violinist
who was also famous for his Stradivarius violin "Habeneck".
In a letter of 1837 Habeneck states that on the original score
was written: "Concerto for violin by W. A. Mozart, 16 July
1777". Other sources refer to the existence of two other
old copies, of reworkings (whose full authenticity is not proven)
of the solo parts made by violinists of the French school, and
so forth. However, the concerto itself has been handed down
to us and it is elegant and brilliant. Need further comments
be made? We have before us Mozart. The concerto is performed
and conducted by Uto Ughi. We need only
listen.
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