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Overview of page
This encyclopedia page will cover Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Cello Concertos, considering historical context and stylistic features of the two pieces. There is a need for this article as there are other articles describing different works by Kabalevsky but none for his cello concertos. As both pieces were written during the time of the USSR, there are important historical contexts that need to be brought to light, which have influenced the pieces. One of the concertos was written with the intention of furthering music education in the USSR as seen in articles from the International Society for Music Education (ISME) during the time of Kabalevsky’s composition. Also, as Kabalevsky left such a great legacy in music education and music in general in the Soviet Union, it is only right that such a collaborative and recognized research space should include works by this esteemed composer. I am aware that music is generally considered to be subjective and that it will be hard to use an encyclopedic tone throughout the article, however I believe I can adhere to these requirements as most of the more ‘subjective’ parts are widely known and accepted facts. I also have several sources, both primary and secondary, and a variety at that, which can back up the information I will give.
Description
Background
Dmitri Kabalevsky wrote two cello concertos during his career as a music educator, composer and member of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). He was a Russian composer who lived during the Twentieth Century, (1904-1987). His life in Russia during the time of the USSR and his career as a music teacher held particular influences on his works, particularly on his Cello Concertos. It is generally accepted that the war and post-war context brought new inspiration to many composers as seen by the number of famous compositions that came out of this time. Other famous pieces that came out of the period include some of the works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dmitri Shostakovich and Samuel Barber (amongst many others). There was particular attention to the cello with several Cello pieces being composed during the time also like Prokofiev's Cello Concerto and Shostakovich's pair of Cello Concertos.
Concerto
A concerto is a piece of music highlighting the stylistic qualities of a particular instrument through solo playing with the accompaniment of an orchestra. Another main feature of the concerto is the cadenza, which is a section of the piece often written by the soloist which fits within any or all or some of the movements. Throughout time, concertos have varied in their form and instrumentation but the most traditional and commonly used structure is three movements, following a pattern of the first being fast, the second slow and the third fast again (usually faster than the first movement). The instrumentation is commonly a traditional orchestra however there are some exceptions. A standard orchestral accompaniment consists of string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections. The Kabalevsky Cello Concertos both follow traditional instrumentation, however, Cello Concerto No. 2 has a more innovative structure than No. 1 which does adhere to traditional concerto structure.
Cello Concerto 1
Cello concerto no. 1 is part of a trilogy of concertos by Kabalevsky and is considered to be the central piece of the trilogy. The other pieces in the trilogy are his Violin Concerto, written in 1948, and Third Piano Concerto, written in 1952. The three concertos were dedicated to students and young performers and were written in a style that was simple enough for a student to play yet challenging enough to progress their musicality and technique. Cello Concerto No. 1 was premiered in 1949 by Svyatoslav Knushevitsky, a famous Russian Cellist who was a student at the time. He was accompanied by the Moscow Conservatory Youth Orchestra.[1]
The first cello concerto is in G Minor.
Cello Concerto no. 1 follows the traditional structure of a concerto as it has three movements, or sections, which follow a ‘fast-slow-fast’ pattern. The first section is an Allegro, which means ‘fast and lively’. It is followed by the second movement which is a Largo, meaning ‘slow’ and was dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers in World Wars 1 and 2. The third movement is an Allegro Molto, meaning ‘very swift’.
Stylistic features: written for students, so it is not as technically challenging as Concerto No. 2. Has the features of a conventional concerto. Kabalevsky was generally praised by his audiences because of this, however he was criticized by some for sticking to convention and not following the new style of music that began to appear around this time.
Influences: 20th century era style, context of end of WW2, influenced by Eastern Folk Songs, neoclassicism influences
Cello Concerto 2 (I will write this section of the page for the 2000 word version)
- Key
- Structure
- Stylistic features
- Influences
References
Callaway, F. (1987). Dmitri Kabalevsky and ISME: A Personal Memoir. International Journal of Music Education, os-10(1), 46–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576148701000113
Grout, D., & Palisca, C. (1988). A History of Western Music (4th ed., pp. 807-880). London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
Kennedy, M., & Bourne, J. (1996). Biography of Dmitri Kabalevski. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20081001000914/http://www.classicalarchives.com/bios/codm/kabalevsky.html
McAllister, R. (1980). Kabalevsky, Dmitri Borisovich. In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musician (1st ed., pp. 760-762). London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Predota, G. (2016). Unsung Concertos Dmitri Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 49. Retrieved from https://www.interlude.hk/front/unsung-concertos-dmitri-kabalevsky-cello-concerto-1-op-49/
Stoops, Emily. "Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 49". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Stoops, Emily. "Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 49". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
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