Vyšehrad and Vltava, by Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)

The composer Bedřich Smetana was born on March 2, 1824, in Litomyšl, and died May 12, 1884, in Prague. Smetana is credited with founding a Czech national musical style. This musical style in turn became identified with the Czech aspirations to form an independent statehood. Hence his music influenced later generations of nationalist composers, including Dvořák, Novák, Suk, as well as Mahler.

During the summer of 1874 Smetana began to lose his hearing. Total deafness quickly followed, and he awoke on the morning of October 20 to find himself completely unable to hear. Resigning his various positions, he devoted himself full-time to composition. Smetana composed the majority of the six Ma Vlást (My Country) tone poems after he became deaf. A mental collapse early in 1884 led to him being institutionalized, where he subsequently died.

Vyšehrad

The first tone poem, Vyšehrad (The High Castle), was composed between the end of September and November 18, 1874. It was premiered by Adolf Čech on March 14, 1875. This tone poem depicts the 10th-century castle overlooking Prague. This castle was the seat of the earliest Czech kings, and was active until the seat of the Holy Roman Empire was established in Prague at the castle of Hradčany.

The work begins with a harp cadenza, representing the folkloric singer Lumír. The opening section introduces the main motive of the work (as well as the tone poem cycle): a four note theme comprised of the notes B♭-E♭-D-B♭. After a chorale-like introduction Smetana depicts the history of the castle. A faster section depicts the spirit and energy of the Czech people galvanized by the castle’s existence. A triumphant climax is negated by a descending passage depicting the castle’s collapse. After the music fades the opening harp material is heard again, like a distant memory. The music now forlornly depicts the ruins of the castle. The tone poem ends fragmented and quietly, with distant sounds of the River Vltava flowing below the castle ruins.

Vltava

The second of the six tone poems, Vltava (more commonly known by its German name Moldau), was composed in a blaze of inspiration between November 20 and December 8, 1874. It was premiered in Prague on April 4, 1875, with Adolf Čech conducting.

Smetana evokes in this piece the course of one of Bohemia’s great rivers. In his own words:

The composition describes the course of the Vltava, starting from the two small springs, the Cold and Warm Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer’s wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night’s moonlight: On the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft. The Vltava swirls into the St. John’s Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the Vyšehrad, and then majestically vanishes into the distance, ending at the Laba (Elbe, in German).

Concerto in F Minor for Tuba and Orchestra (1954) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). First performance June 13, 1954 in the Royal Festival Hall, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, and Philip Catelinet solo tubist.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney, England on October 12, 1872, and died in London, England, on August 26, 1958. His long and distinguished career made him an inspiration for British music in the 20th century, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey in honor of his contribution to Britain’s musical history.

In 1954 the London Symphony Orchestra celebrated its Golden Jubilee, and the player’s representatives asked Ralph Vaughan Williams if the composer had a new work that could be programmed for the 50th anniversary concert. He replied that he had a concerto for bass tuba. The LSO’s tubist, Philip Catelinet, met with the composer to go over the concerto, and together they agreed to premiere the piece.

The concerto’s outer movements emphasize the extent to which the tuba is capable of performing dazzling displays of virtuosity belying the size of the instrument. The middle movement is a Romanza, which displays Vaughan Williams’ melodic gifts: creating a haunting and nostalgic mood with lyrical and poignant solo lines for the soloist.

This work is ground-breaking, insofar as it may be the very first concerto for solo tuba and orchestra. For that reason, combined with its great musical value, it has become a staple of the tuba repertoire.

Concerto in A Minor for Violoncello and Orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). First performance January 19, 1873, at a Société des Concerts du Conservatoire concert, with Auguste Tolbeque as soloist.

Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris, France, on October 9, 1835. At age two, he was found to possess perfect pitch. At age 10 he gave his debut public recital, where he offered to play any of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas from memory. His extraordinary precociousness inspired his friend Hector Berlioz to quip: Il sait tout, mais il manque d’inexpérience (“He knows everything, but lacks inexperience”).

Indeed Saint-Saëns’s first foray into writing for solo cello shows great mastery. Instead of the normal three-movement concerto form, Saint-Saëns structured his first cello concerto in one movement divided without pause into three sections. The opening material frames a minuet-like middle section before recapitulating and introducing new ideas for the finale. This gives the concerto a grand sweep that makes its 15-minute performing length seem deceptively short.

Part of this deception comes from the opening: Instead of containing a typical orchestral exposition, the piece begins with only one short chord from the orchestra. The soloist then abruptly enters, performing a spun out and intense theme that contrasts sharply with the orchestra’s short punctuated contributions. The second theme is a lyrical melody in the contrasting relative major key. A short development section features a call and answer dialogue between the soloist and orchestra that highlights Saint-Saëns’ gifts at orchestration: one that never overwhelms the soloist, but does not shortchange the orchestra’s contribution in the overall fabric. After the middle minuet section, a restatement of first movement material opens the finale. While Saint-Saens uses the finale mainly as a recapitulation of earlier material, the concerto concludes with new, dazzling, and increasingly virtuosic material for the cello.