Although Dvor?k's cello concerto is enormously popular, no extended study of it has been undertaken hitherto. This book is a comprehensive study intended for concertgoers and students of this well-loved work. It considers aspects of historical background, form, virtuosity, performance and the concerto's rich personal content. This guide sees the work as a crucial means of exploring the composer's emotional life and links it intimately to the woman who was probably his first love.
Author(s): Jan Smaczny
Series: Cambridge Music Handbooks
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 130
Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 4
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface and acknowledgements......Page 11
‘As a solo instrument it isn’t much good’......Page 13
Dvorák’s first Cello Concerto......Page 14
‘Its place is in...chamber music’......Page 19
Cello and orchestra together for the first time......Page 23
‘A sonata for cello’......Page 25
‘The Road to Damascus’: Dvorák and Victor Herbert’s Second Cello Concerto......Page 26
3 The Concerto and Dvorák’s ‘American manner’......Page 32
4 ‘Decisions and revisions’: sketch and compositional process......Page 41
The continuous sketch......Page 43
First movement: Allegro......Page 44
Second movement: Adagio, ma non troppo......Page 47
Third movement, finale: Allegro moderato......Page 50
The revision......Page 52
A symphonic concerto?......Page 54
The first movement: thematic variation and metamorphosis......Page 58
Second movement: Adagio, ma non troppo......Page 66
Finale: Allegro moderato......Page 70
A concerto for orchestra?......Page 76
An operatic concerto?......Page 83
A spiritual homecoming?......Page 87
Josefina’s concerto?......Page 89
Wihan and virtuosity......Page 98
Leo Stern and the première......Page 102
The Concerto and Casals......Page 105
The Concerto in the last thirty years......Page 109
1 Dvorák and the cello......Page 111
2 Preludes to the Concerto......Page 112
3 The Concerto and Dvorak’s ‘American manner’......Page 113
5 The score I: forms and melodies......Page 115
6 The score II: interpretations......Page 118
7 Performers and performances......Page 120
Select bibliography......Page 123
Select discography......Page 127
Index......Page 128
