Tonight the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO, 國家交響樂團) presents Legends from Eastern Europe (東歐經典): three works from the Romantic era including Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, Op. 104 in B minor.
Peaking in the early 19th century, Romantic music is known for rhapsodic melodies and deep dissonance used in the pursuit of stirring the audience. It is also known for a dearth of cello music, said German-born soloist Johannes Moser, who performs Dvorak’s cello concerto tonight at the National Concert Hall.
Moser is an international touring cellist who placed first at the 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition. He is hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists.”
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
He first played the Dvorak concerto at 19. While it is a repertory staple today, it was an anomaly for its time, he said.
Dvorak’s Romantic brethren had mostly chosen to write for piano and violin — pet instruments of the era’s virtuosos. There were good cellists in the period, but these were orchestral cellists with little exposure, who never broke out as superstars the way Paganini did.
“So when the cello concerto was written, people believed it was unplayable,” Moser said.
‘IT’S ALL THERE’
Dvorak began Cello Concerto, Op. 104 in B minor at the request of Hanus Wihan, a friend and Czech cellist who was regarded as the best at the instrument in his time.
“Wihan asked for a lot — an extra cadenza, many changes in the piece. Dvorak did not want to make any of these changes, and I’m glad he didn’t,” Moser said.
The final form startled critics, including Dvorak’s contemporary Brahms, who said, “Why on earth didn’t I know one could write a cello concerto like this?”
While it is technically challenging, the concerto is not a bravura piece and distinguishes itself rather by a depth of feeling, Moser said.
The first movement is developed classically, with two brief themes traded between the cello and the ensemble and growing with each iteration. The second is quiet and more plaintive, a play on Bohemian melodies.
“You have his homesickness. He lived in America for two years and wrote it at the end of his stay in New York City,” Moser said.
“There is also the fact that the girl he wanted to marry — but didn’t because she didn’t like him that much — had died during the process of his writing the concerto, so there’s a lot of longing in that as well.”
The third movement is suddenly vigorous, sustained by a strong ecstatic passage that dissolves into a mellow epilogue for about two minutes before the piece concludes. The epilogue is an afterthought, appended upon the death of his beloved.
“The way he does it is really amazing. You are aware of this curve,” Moser said.
“When I learn and relearn a piece, I look first for the dramatic curve. If the composer is not a master of drama, I need to emphasize certain things to achieve more relief,” he said. “But with this piece, it is all there.”
In tonight’s program, NSO will also perform Bartok’s ballet score The Miraculous Mandarin and Les Preludes, the third and most-played of Liszt’s 13 symphonic poems.
At the National Concert Hall’s first-floor lobby, guest conductor Gabriel Feltz from Germany will give a pre-concert talk starting at 7pm.
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