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| Violin Concerto in D minor | |
|---|---|
| violin concerto by Aram Khachaturian | |
| Full title | Violin Concerto and Orchestra in D Minor |
| Key | D minor |
| Opus | 46 |
| Year | 1940 |
| Time | 35–38 minutes |
| Movements | three |
| Premiere | |
| Date | November 16, 1940[citation needed] |
| Location | Moscow |
| Performers | David Oistrakh |
Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor is a violin concerto in three movements composed in 1940 for David Oistrakh.
It was premiered on November 16, 1940 by Oistrakh.[1]
Composition
Structure
Violin concerto in D minor (1940)
- First movement: Allegro con fermezza (about 14 minutes)
- Second movement: Andante sostenuto (about 12 minutes)
- Third movement: Allegro vivace (about 9 minutes)
A movement in sonata form, the Allegro con fermezza opens with a melody that has been described as "energetic"[2] a "rollicking dance-like theme,"[3] and this yields to a "more lyrical"[4] secondary melody.
The Andante sostenuto has been described as "a rhapsodic slow movement that sweeps one into a brooding wintry landscape."[5] Geoffrey Norris wrote, "The ease and spontaneity, pungency and flexibility of Khachaturian's melodic inventions are most clearly laid out in the Andante sostenuto of the central movement, cast in a free-flowing, quasi-improvisatory manner redolent of the art of Armenian folk music."[6] The second movement is a free-flowing rondo.[7]
The concluding Allegro vivace has been called "a whirlwind of motion and virtuosity."[8] In this movement, "the folks element is specially pronounced in the dance-like vigor of the main melody and in the repetitive, insistent, wild virtuosity of the solo instrument."[9]
Reception and legacy
David Mermelstein wrote in The New York Times that Khachaturian's Violin Concerto is "beloved by aficionados of the instrument."[10]
The German conductor Kurt Masur opined that the concerto "has much folk color... It has a melancholy, Eastern flavor and ornaments. It has the smell of rose perfume." In this sense, he likened it to Dvorak's Violin Concerto.[10]
Recordings
https://classic-online.ru/ru/production/1832
| Year | Soloist | Conductor | Label | Catalogue | Duration | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Ames Piano Quartet | Dorian | 90167 | 38:35 |
rest
Like Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto, which has already begun re-appearing here and there — including a performance from this orchestra two years ago — it’s a work of strong rhythms and colorful melody inspired by the composer’s Armenian heritage. https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/symphony-silicon-valley-revivifies-khachaturians-piano-concerto
New York Philharmonic premiere, more than 60 years after it was first played, in Moscow. Silvia Marcovici is the soloist, and Kurt Masur conducts[10]
The Violin Concerto was written in 1940, for the great Ukrainian violinist David Oistrakh, whom Khachaturian had met five years before. Unlike many works that ultimately found their way into the hearts of music lovers, the concerto was an instant hit; praised from its first, private performances, it became one of the most popular new works played in the Soviet Union.[10]
The work was palpably vibrant. Filled with the Orientalism that composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin had made characteristic of Russian music 60 years before, the concerto fitted into a longstanding tradition of attractive, accessible fare. That its solo part seemed fiendishly difficult to play only increased its appeal.[10]
The violinist Leonid Kogan, then 16, attended the concerto's premiere, as did luminaries like Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Kabalevsky and Miaskovsky. For us young violinists it was a revelation, Kogan wrote later. I remember that the concerto seemed to us to be extremely difficult, almost impossible to perform. In 1958 he recorded an outstanding version of the concerto for RCA with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, directed by Pierre Monteux.[10]
Ms. Marcovici is not intimidated by the piece. "Nothing is difficult when you like it," she said. Many familiar with the concerto would disagree. Its thorny first-movement cadenza or, more accurately, cadenzas have challenged plenty of virtuoso fiddlers.[10]
Khachaturian's reputation as a composer of serious music has declined at least since his death in 1978. The Violin Concerto may never attain the universal respect heaped on the concertos of Shostakovich and Prokofiev.[10]
The violinist Gil Shaham is certainly ideally suited to convey the energetic optimism of Khachaturian’s difficult, folkloric Violin Concerto, which he performed with the New York Philharmonic, led by the Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko, on Wednesday night at Avery Fisher Hall. He soared through the acrobatic solo part, almost threatening to leave the orchestra behind on a few occasions. Mr. Boreyko led a full-blooded, bristling reading of the rhythmically driven score, highlighting the details of the folk-infused melodies and exotic harmonies derived from Armenian modes and scales.[11]
The Violin Concerto, first performed by the already famous David Oistrakh in 1940, got Khachaturian his first Stalin Prize, then the highest artistic award in the Soviet Union, and it soon joined the Piano Concerto in the international repertory. Is it shameful to be swept away by the perpetual feast and improvisational freedom of his Violin Concerto, to melt into the sensuality and passion of Spartacus or to be moved to tears by the Waltz from Masquerade?[12]
https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/classical-playlist-beethoven-shostakovich-tigran-mansurian-and-more/ James Ehnes, violinist; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Ehnes Quartet The Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian composed his Violin Concerto for David Oistrakh. James Ehnes conveys its lighthearted mood, folk elements and virtuosic passages with sweet tone and technical aplomb, deftly accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Mark Wigglesworth.
https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/03/archives/exemplar-of-socialist-realism-appreciation-drew-on-folk-sources.html
For a time he was one of the mostplayed Soviet composers in the West. Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of The Boston Symphony, was interested in the then younger group of Soviet composers, and Khachaturian figured prominently on his programs. Other conductors here and abroad found much to admire; many pianists took the Khachaturian concerto into their repertory; violinists were constantly playing the violin concerto.
https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/18/archives/radio.html
7‐8:30—Masterwork Hour: Mischa Elman, violinist. Mozart's “Apollo et Hyacinthus” Overture; Khachaturian's Violin Concerto; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5—(WNYC).
https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/03/archives/khachaturian-a-leading-soviet-composer-dies-at-74-works-included.html In addition to “Gayne,” his list of better‐known works includes the Piano Concerto (1936), Violin. Concerto (1940), “Masquerade” Suite (1944) and the ballet “Spartacus” (1953).
https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4545/violin-concerto-in-d-minor
https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.570988 Nicolas Koeckert
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%208918 Lydia Mordkovitch
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/khachaturian-kabalevsky-violin-concertos
https://www.archiphon.de/arde/catalog/products/taschner/taschner-arc-126-Taschner-Konzerte.php
After the war was over, the score to Khachaturian’s violin concerto was made available to Taschner by the Russian occupying forces. It was Taschner who made the work known in Germany. The Archiphon release is the third recording in an epoch-making series: Oistrakh 1944 (who premiered the concerto in 1940), Kaufman 1946 (the first American release) and Taschner 1947 (with the RSO Berlin under Artur Rother) - both the youngest and fieriest of the three recordings. Also appearing on CD for the first time is Sarasate’s "Zigeunerweisen", which Taschner recorded in 1944 with Michael Raucheisen. This recording made its way to Russia as war booty, but was returned in 1991.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/12/khachaturian-violin-concerto his Violin Concerto, dating from 1940. It's an immensely attractive work, full of his trademark Armenian folk flourishes, and the swaying, hypnotic Andante is notably beautiful. But the unforced optimism of the outer movements now seems unthinking when we realise it was composed at a time when Stalin was giving Prokofiev and Shostakovich hell. The performance is terrific, though. Khachaturian: Violin Concerto; Concerto-Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/15/khachaturian-shostakovich-james-ehnes-melbourne-wigglesworth-review The Khachaturian concerto, full of oriental-Armenian folk motifs from the composers Tbilisi homeland, was written in 1940 for the great Odessa-born violinist David Oistrakh.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/961a/a991d8a656d368094d0a08ab783b504241c0.pdf Artists of the first rank, David Oistrakh for the Violin Concerto, and Svyatoslav Knushevitsky for the Cello Concerto, introduced these works as well. The composerʼs collegiality with regard to his chosen soloists is exemplified by Oistrakhʼs comments:
... I came to know him quite well while the Violin Concerto was being written. I remember that summer day in 1940 when he first played the Violin Concerto, which he had just finished. He was so totally immersed in it that he went immediately to the piano. The stirring rhythms, characteristic turns of national folklore, and sweeping melodic themes captivated me at once. He played with tremendous enthusiasm. One could still feel in his playing that artistic fire with which he had created the music. Sincere and original, replete with melodic beauty and folk colors, it seemed to sparkle. All these traits which the public still enjoys in the Concerto made an unforgettable impression at the time. It was clear that a vivid composition had been born, destined to live long on the concert stage. And my violin was to launch it on its career.9
https://books.google.am/books?id=-seWjlH17dsC&pg=PA256&dq=Violin+Concerto+Khachaturian Classical Music: The Rough Guide
https://books.google.am/books?id=25NADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA774&dq=Violin+Concerto+Khachaturian 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die
https://books.google.am/books?id=eiolDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114&dq=Violin+Concerto+Khachaturian Music of the Soviet Era: 1917-1991
Kaufman https://books.google.am/books?id=IEmWymaZrfcC&pg=PA189&dq=Violin+Concerto+Khachaturian
Raw
- KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto. SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 • James Ehnes (vn); Mark Wigglesworth, cond; Melbourne SO; Ehnes Qrt • ONYX 4121(69
- 36)
aram khachaturian’s 1940 violin concerto is one of his best-known works, and one of his finest. this composer was at his best when he could draw upon his armenian ethnic heritage, which he did lavishly in this concerto. without that connection, inspiration could fail him, as in the empty bombast of his Spartacus ballet. an ambitious, large-scale work, lasting 35 or more minutes, the concerto is in contrast filled with gorgeous melody, vivid color, and opportunities for superior violinists to display their skills.
in this concerto, James ehnes faces competition not only from the several recordings by david oistrakh, the work’s dedicatee, but also from such acclaimed contemporary violinists as Julia fischer (pentatone) and sergey khachatryan (no relation, it appears, on naïve). neither he nor the others mentioned match oistrakh’s tonal opulence, but all of their performances are excellent, and it is difficult to choose among them. each one of these violinists is a top-flight technician and more than equal to the demands of the piece. ehnes takes a comparatively relaxed and straightforward approach. he plays beautifully, with refined, perfectly centered tone and a reserved eloquence. his vibrato is varied, well controlled, and never excessive. tempos are well integrated. fischer and khachatryan, in their different ways, offer greater intensity and more variety of tone, tempo, and dynamics, but ehnes’s playing stands out for refinement and sheer beauty, and connoisseurs of the violin cannot fail to be captivated by artistry of this order. the australian orchestra, under the steady leadership of Mark wigglesworth, plays proficiently for ehnes, if without the degree of detail and color provided by fischer’s russian national orchestra or khachatryan’s sinfonia varsovia. aside from a slight opacity in the orchestral texture, ehnes’s performance is recorded in very good sound, with excellent balance between soloist and orchestra.
rather than taking the obvious route of coupling the khachaturian work with another concerto, ehnes has chosen to showcase the string quartet he formed in 2010 in performances of two quartets by this composer’s great colleague and contemporary, shostakovich. the other members of the quartet are violinist amy schwartz Moretti, violist richard o’neill, and cellist robert deMaine (the principal cellist of the los angeles philharmonic). this release appears to be the ensemble’s first recording.
the two quartets performed on this disc both date from 1960. no. 7, in three movements lasting a total of about 12 minutes, is a brief work but not a slight one. the composer described it as “lifeaffirming,” which is perhaps a reference to its dedication to the memory of his first wife, nina, but its content does not seem very affirmative. the playing of the ehnes Quartet is polished and precise, with tonal qualities that are smoother and less abrasive than in some other performances. these players approach the Allegro first movement with a degree of restraint that contrasts with the more overtly aggressive treatment by the pacifica and st. petersburg Quartets (cedille and hyperion respectively), emphasizing the enigmatic character of the music and its underlying sense of unease. like the emerson Quartet (dg), the ehnes ensemble adopts a relatively quick tempo for the Lento second movement, eschewing the dirge-like treatment of the st. petersburg players and producing a ghostly, chilling statement. the fugal Allegro section of the finale is taken at a very fast pace and articulated with consummate precision. the seeming ease with which the ehnes ensemble negotiates this treacherous music hardly underplays its violence, although i miss the menacing snarl of the cello in the emerson recording. the ehnes cellist is more reticent. the ehnes players’ approach to the concluding Allegretto section, which recapitulates material from the first movement, is firm and almost expressionless, again lending a remote, enigmatic character to this music.
i would not say that the performances on this disc are necessarily better than all the others mentioned, but they are at least as good and possess the special qualities indicated, for which they deserve a strong recommendation. Daniel Morrison
Fanfare: The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors. Jan/Feb2015, Vol. 38 Issue 3, p219-539. 321p. Music Review, ISSN: 0148-9364, pp. 363-364
- ^ http://www.khachaturian.am/eng/konzert.htm [dead link]
- ^ Khachaturian, Violin Concerto, EMI CDC 7 47087 2, CD liner notes by Geoffrey Norris
- ^ NAXOS Liner notes by Kevin Sutton
- ^ NAXOS Liner notes by Kevin Sutton
- ^ NAXOS Liner notes by Kevin Sutton
- ^ Khachaturian, Violin Concerto, EMI CDC 7 47087 2, CD liner notes by Geoffrey Norris
- ^ "Error | Kennedy Center".
- ^ NAXOS Liner notes by Kevin Sutton
- ^ Khachaturian, Violin Concerto, EMI CDC 7 47087 2, CD liner notes by Geoffrey Norris
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mermelstein, David (September 23, 2001). "MUSIC; A Big Hit In Need Of Revival". The New York Times.
- ^ Schweitzer, Vivien (November 13, 2008). "Energy From a Composer Can Fuel a Player's Flight". The New York Times.
- ^ Pritsker, Maya (October 5, 2003). "MUSIC; What Could Khachaturian Do Besides An Encore?". The New York Times.