Cello Concerto No. 1 (Penderecki)

Krzysztof Penderecki's Cello Concerto No. 1, originally titled Concerto per violoncello ed orchestra, Nr. 1,[1] is a composition that was adapted from an earlier, unpublished and unrecorded work by Penderecki, the Concerto per violino grande e orchestra. The concerto was transcribed for cello in 1973.

Composition and premiere

The concerto was commissioned by Bronisław Eichenholz,[2] and was originally conceived for a violino grande, an instrument with five strings[3] that combines the ranges of the violin and the viola. The concerto was completed in 1967 and premiered in Östersund on July 1, 1967, with Eichenholz playing the violino grande and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Henryk Czyż.[4] However, this version of the concerto was performed only twice and did not gain significant attention.[3] After the initial performances, it was performed once more at the Hopkins Center Congregation of the Arts during the Fourth International Webern Festival at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.[5]

Five years later, Penderecki decided to transcribe the concerto for cello, replacing the violino grande. This new version was dedicated to Siegfried Palm, who premiered it on September 7, 1972, at the Edinburgh Festival. The transcribed version of the concerto was subsequently published by the Polish Music Publishing House and Moeck Musikinstrumente + Verlag.[4]

Analysis

The original version of the Concerto consisted of two movements, titled Quasi purgatorio and Suoni celeste.[3] However, the final version is condensed into a single movement, with a performance time of approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The concerto begins with a lento introduction that features an initial cadenza, which was specifically composed for some of its performances.[6]

Reception

Although the first version of the concerto was performed only twice, it received positive reviews from critics. Shirley Fleming, writing for High Fidelity, described it as a fascinating piece.[5]

Notable recordings

Below are some of the most well-known recordings of this piece:

Cellist Orchestra Conductor Record Label Year of Recording Format
Siegfried Palm Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra Krzysztof Penderecki EMI 1972 LP and CD[3][4][7]
Arto Noras Sinfonia Varsovia Krzysztof Penderecki Finlandia Records 2001 CD [3][8]

References

  1. ^ "Concerto per violino grande e orchestra". Nadorowy Instytut Audiowizualny. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. ^ Avis, Peter (2007). Penderecki: Orchestral Works. EMI Records Ltd.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Cello Concerto No. 1". Nadorowy Instytut Audiowizualny. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Bylander, Cindy (January 2004). Krzysztof Penderecki: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 0-313-25658-6.
  5. ^ a b Fleming, Shirley (October 1968). "Hanover, N. H.: Webern, Krenek, & a New Violin". High Fidelity/Musical America. 18 (10).
  6. ^ "Penderecki Leads BSO in Un-Haydn Program". Baltimore Sun. April 8, 1972.
  7. ^ "Penderecki: Orchestral Works". Warner Classics. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  8. ^ "Arto Noras Penderecki: Complete Cello Concertos". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 February 2014.