SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTO
at the Helsinki Institute of Music. Unfortunately, the combination of Sibelius only completing the work just before the concert and Nováček not really being a soloist resulted in the premier being a flop. Subsequently, Sibelius made several revisions to the work and brought out the new version in 1905. Willy Burmester was again asked to perform, but again he could not make the concert and so the orchestra concertmaster became the soloist. By this time, Burmester was fed up with the whole process and refused to ever play the concerto. Thus, Sibelius ended up dedicating it to the Hungarian prodigy Ferenc von Vecsey.
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Interestingly, the original version, a technically farmore difficult work, remained hidden to violinists until 1991, when the heirs of Sibelius allowed the Greek virtuoso, Leonidas Kavakos, access to the original manuscripts. Out of this came the sole recording of the original concerto on the BIS label with Osmo Vänskä conducting the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. To this writer’s ears, the revisions turned a good but typical-sounding concerto into a brilliant, evocative masterpiece.
cadenza, which Sibelius inserts at the beginning of the development section. The movement ends with an extraordinary display of octaves as the solo violin and orchestra have one last argument. The two reconcile in the second movement and we get a glorious, expansive solo melody that is lovingly supported by the orchestra. The last movement features a string technique that is endearingly known as “shoe-shine” bowing. The melody is a jaunty dotted rhythm in which every beat has one fast note. That note is played by snapping the bow away from the body in a downward motion, like an old-fashioned shoeshine. It is an easy and satisfying technique to execute. Meanwhile, the orchestra supplies an actual heartbeat, helping to propel the music into a marvelous climax in the middle of the piece. The “shoeshine” music returns and the solo
OCTOBER 24 & 25, 2021
Speaking of evocative, the opening is one of the most unique, mesmerizing moments in concerto literature. The upper strings play a quiet D minor ostinato that is both alive and incredibly still, like mist over a frozen lake. The solo violin appears like a ship in the distance, playing a melody that seems devoid of rhythm or meter. Indeed, often throughout the first movement the violin and orchestra are seemingly at odds with each other, equal partners in a dynamic conversation. The soloist decides to interrupt the conversation with the 48
First Strings | Lynn Schramm HILTON HEAD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
