Black Holes and Snowy Mountains

Antonin Dvorak masterfully overcomes the challenges associated with pitting the solo cello against the symphony orchestra in his Cello Concerto No. 2 in B Minor, op. 104. Written in New York in 1894,it displays the composer’s heritage with Eastern European melodies and rhythms that still fit perfectly into the classical framework. He goes much deeper than being simply a nationalist composer; the second movement in particular can leave nobody untouched by its singular expressions of melancholy and grief while the great struggle he sets up between a chaotic, uncertain world and the lone hopeful voice of the solo instrument is universally identifiable.

Dvorak’s Cello Concerto even impressed his benefactor and advocate, the great Johannes Brahms. He is said to have exclaimed, “Why did I not know it was possible to write a cello concerto such as this? If I had known, I would have written one long ago!”

I. Allegro

The opening movement is in double exposition form, a variant of the sonata-allegro form in which the theme(s) of the exposition are repeated twice. In a concerto, this is usually done first by the orchestra and then by the soloist.

The slow, mysterious theme one is immediately introduced in the clarinets. Theme one is heavy and somber, suggesting a dark, brooding mood in a minor key. The second section of the theme (0:21) starts softly in the strings but soon builds into a repeat of theme one in the entire orchestra. A chromatically descending bass line in the brass (1:07) leads to a series of descending string tremolos that seem to evaporate the dark music played before it. Theme one is repeated in the winds (1:35) over trilling flute, quieting before a solo horn begins (2:03) a legato, lyric theme two that is basically the opposite of theme one- hopeful and tender. Theme two passes from the horn to the clarinet, oboe, and finally the violins; it’s almost like a love theme. A bright, tutti cadence melts into an anticipatory tremolo in the low strings, the backdrop against which the cello makes its solo entrance (3:32).

The solo cello replays theme one twice, once in major before again in minor. This sets up the entire concerto as a struggle between the orchestra representing darkness and the cello, representing the voice of the individual. Theme one is repeated, rising in the flutes before an almost dance-like theme one appears (4:35) in the cello. After some transition theme one returns, which soon transforms into theme two at 5:48 after the music quiets once again. At 6:52 the cello launches into a series of rapid sextuples over a simple melody in the winds, which resolves into a passage that sounds like a dialogue between the cello and the orchestra, which interrupts regularly with fanfares before theme one returns again in the full orchestra for the cadence, ending the exposition.

The development begins at 8:44 after a long descent in the strings and a low trill in the flutes. The low strings rumble with theme one, which is then passed to the upper strings and winds. The solo cello re-enters (9:30) with a heartbreaking, mournful theme one. You really get the impression that the cello is alone and forgotten at first until a flute joins in to keep the cello company. The flute seems to represent a sort of bright ray of sunshine or an angel, bringing light to a so-far dark world. After the cello/flute duet finishes, the music speeds up with the cello playing an upward sequence over a rising bass line. This builds in intensity before a huge pause, followed by the recapitulation (11:40) which begins with theme two.

Theme two is recapitulated in the entire orchestra with the high strings playing the melody over a sea of warm sound from the orchestra. This is soon repeated by the cello with soft timpani maintaining the rhythm. The sextuple figures return before another cello/orchestra conversation resolves to a major version of theme one (14:03). The darkness that characterized the beginning of the movement is nowhere to be found, and the cello sings happily with the orchestra. The coda of the movement, beginning at 14:50 is very triumphant- almost as if the cello is returning home after a great victory, which indeed it has.

II. Adagio ma non troppo

The first theme of the adagio begins with a gentle, flowing theme in the winds, soon echoed by the cello. Once again we hear a cello/flute duet rising to prominence around 2:13. But again, Dvorak sets up the struggle between light and dark as he does in the first movement, except this time he starts with the major-key theme one which is interrupted by the dramatic theme two at 3:05.

Theme two is dark and serious, before the cello (3:19) on top of frantically playing strings plays a transcription of his sister-in-law’s favorite song, who had also just fallen ill. The sudden interruption of idyllic peace is Dvorak’s musical description of this dire news. The cello, with oboe and flute accompaniment continue to outline this song before a series of swelling orchestra chords lead to a repeat of theme two (4:38).

Once again the song is repeated, except this time the winds play the melody and the frantic bass line is in the cello. The swells in the orchestra return at 5:50 after a wind/cello passage, followed by the cello expressing its despair at the situation. The cello descends and slows, which clears the way for theme one to reappear (6:41) in the french horns over pizzicato strings. The cello ascends out of the depths of its range at 7:33 before pausing, almost as if it is trying to gather enough strength to go on. It manages to do so with a beautiful and melodic solo before once again the cello’s angel of hope returns in the form of the flute (8:18). The flute seems to empower the cello, which speeds up in a “musical smile” before it looks back and “sighs”. The winds and cello converse over a sustained bass line before the cello sings its slow song of despair. The flute returns again at 10:58 before the music pauses momentarily and begins the coda after a rising cello line (11:29). The winds and cello share a lyric melody before the cello takes over in a solo reaching the very top of its range. A moment of darkness (12:35) soon passes, and the movement ends on a calm descending line from the cello and winds.

III. Finale

The third movement begins with a military march (theme one) complete with a triangle representing jangling swords. Steadily growing from the low strings, the cello enters and plays theme one (0:35), which is soon echoed by the orchestra. A transition by the cello in its high range leads to theme one again in the winds and once again in the orchestra. Theme one ends with a convincing cadence.

Theme two (note the major key!) begins at 2:57 as a clarinet and cello duet and is nothing like the exact, martial nature of theme one. Momentum builds throughout the following passage with a fast and difficult cello line before the orchestra plays (4:35) a series of rising motives and fanfares. The cello plays a quiet version of theme one (5:39) accompanied by soft, pizzicato strings which is immediately repeated loudly in the full orchestra.

Lyric strings and an a brief oboe solo lead into theme three (6:31), also in major. Theme three is played by the cello with wind accompaniment, which speeds up steadily prodded by the timpani before the flute returns once again (7:19). Theme three is passed through the winds to a solo violin which plays in unison with the cello (8:02). The path from darkness to light is now complete, as theme one returns at 8:41 in the strings and cello in a major key. A large brass fanfare-like line at 9:30 slows the music down, and a low cello ascends with winds into theme two from the second movement, calmly playing theme one motives afterwards.

Thus begins the coda, a last tribute to Dvorak’s sister-in-law. A flute over distant brass arpeggios (10:54) that almost sound bell-like (think of Part I, Movement IV “Carillon” from Bizet’s “L’Arlesienne” Suite) trill and again repeat theme one. The violins and winds play theme two of the second movement one last time (11:33) before a trill beings back the minor version of theme one from the first movement. This does not last long, and is quickly followed by theme two of the second movement over a quiet timpani. Pizzicato strings (13:05) over a steady tone in the cello followed by a tremolo from the full string section bring us to the end of the concerto with a last statement of theme one from the original movement in its new major key and a brass fanfare.

The Dvorak Cello Concerto is a journey from dark uncertainty to bright optimism. Dvorak’s cello writing is masterful- taking full advantage of its rich, mellow sound to produce stunningly beautiful melodies. Perhaps Dvorak’s magnum opus along with the well-known “New World” Symphony No. 9, the Cello Concerto remains the most popular work in the cello repertoire and appears frequently on the concert circuit even to this day.

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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Daniel Barenboim’s [year] recording with the [orchestra] on [label]. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Alternatively, you can purchase this recording from the iTunes Music Store often at a reduced price by following the link below.

This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.

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Posted under: Culture by HP at 04/14/09 8:58 AM