Alex Gemeinhardt’s Senior Recital
May 3rd, 2025 at 6pm
The School for Strings
Concertone for Two Violins in C Major, K. 190 W. A. Mozart
I. Allegro spiritoso
Alex Gemeinhardt, Violin I
Allen Lieb, Violin II
Marina Iwao, Piano
Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin, BWV 1004
I. Allemanda
Alex Gemeinhardt, Violin
J. S. Bach
Suite for Violin & Piano, Op. 3 S. C. Taylor
I. Pastorale
III. Barcarolle
IV. Contemplation
Alex Gemeinhardt, Violin
Marina Iwao, Piano
Concerto for Violin in G Minor, Op. 26 M. Bruch
I. Vorspiel: Allegro moderato
II. Adagio
Alex Gemeinhardt, Violin
Marina Iwao, Piano
Program Notes:
Mozart: Concertone for Two Violins in C Major, K. 190
Mozart’s Concertone for Two Violins is a unique and unusual piece, and is not played often at all. He was 17 when he wrote this concerto in 1774. The circumstances of the Salzburg Premiere are unknown, but the inclusion of Trumpets in the Orchestral Score hint towards a celebratory or festive occasion. Mozart’s use of the word “Concertone” meaning “Large Concert” is not very unusual, as Leopold Mozart also used it in his copy of this piece. While the title page of the score only refers to two solo violins and orchestra, the music contains notable solo writing for the oboe, cello and with a few passages for divided violas and for a solo double bass.
Bach: Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin, BWV 1004
Bach’s Second Partita for Solo Violin, was written between 1717 and 1720, and it part of a complete cycle called Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. The Second Partita is unique because four out of the five movements are all dances, the fifth being a Ciaccona. Professor Helga Thoene suggests that this partita, and especially its last movement, was a “tombeau” written in memory of Bach's first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (who died in 1720), though this theory is controversial. Johannes Brahms in a letter to Clara Schumann described the piece, "On one stave, for a small instrument, the man [Bach] writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind."
Mozart in 1773
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Suite for Violin & Piano, Op. 3
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in 1875, in London. He learnt to play the violin, was recognized as a child prodigy and at 15 was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music with Charles Villiers Stanford, where he was a contemporary of Holst and Vaughan Williams. This Suite for Violin and Piano was written sometime in late 1892, or early 1893, when he was 17 years old. Not much is known about this piece, other than the fact that he was studying at the Royal College of Music in London when he composed this piece.
Coleridge-Taylor in 1893
Bruch: Concerto for Violin in G minor, Op. 26
Bruch’s first Violin Concerto out of a total of three, is the most performed today. The concerto was first completed in 1866, and the first performance was given on 24 April 1866 by Otto von Königslow, with Bruch conducting. The concerto was then considerably revised with help from celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim and completed in its present form in 1867. The first movement, titled “Vorspiel” is the prelude to the second movement, which is directly connected to the first. The first movement ends as it began, with two Solo Cadenzas. The second movement is admired by its beautiful melodies, and is the heart of this concerto. The many themes in the Solo Violin are passed around through the orchestra, constantly moving, keeping it alive and flowing through every transition.
