Note: This post will be delayed a week due to a power outage as a result of a snowstorm last Monday. I've been without power since then, and I've had very limited cell service. Hopefully we'll get power back in the next 24 hours or so, but that is not certain (and the forecast calls for more snow tonight). Anyway, I'll listen to Sibelius next week! : )YIKES! Last week was certainly a week from hell. Our area experienced a wet and heavy snow on Monday, and we lost power at about 11:00 a.m. We were without heat, light, Wifi -- and even water for a time -- and we didn't get power back until Saturday. It was awful! And now the Weather Peeps are telling us more snow (and/or ice) is on the way tomorrow! I can only hope that we won't have to live through another power outage this coming week.
Anyway, life has been back to normal this past week, and I listened to Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto several times, and -- a drum roll please -- I loved it! I listened to the concerto in the video linked above (with the score), and I also listened and watched the video HERE with Hilary Hahn on the violin as she performed with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck. I highly recommend this video as both Hahn and Franck really put passion into their work. One person commented below the video, "I don't think there are many classical musicians that would do the things Hilary did on Two Set. Not only did she have fun, she let us see a side of a performer that is seldom seen. She is extremely personable and has made this music more accessible to many who otherwise wouldn't listen" -- and that was true of Franck too -- it looks like he was having fun! Of course, on this site, “CODA: Listen You Must,” Sibelius' “Finlandia” is on my list of Top 100 favorite pieces (HERE); however, I realized that I wasn't familiar with any other work by Sibelius. Therefore, I decided to choose something by him to listen to this week (er, last week), and I landed on his one and only concerto, his Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47. There’s a short article on Wikipedia about the piece (HERE), and it notes that it is “symphonic in scope, with the solo violin and all sections of the orchestra being equal voices.” The concerto is composed in traditional form with three movements: I. Allegro moderato (a moderately fast tempo) II. Adagio di molto (very slow) III. Allegro, ma non tanto (fast – but not too much so) The first movement opens with a quiet flutter of strings before the violin begins a doleful lament (is there any other type of lament?). Then there are various shifts in tempo and tone throughout the movement, but the underlying expression of sorrow is constant (the piece is in D Minor after all) – and is it just me, or at about the halfway mark isn't there a hint of the mournful “Transylvanian Lullaby” from Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” (HERE)? Perhaps composer John Morris was influenced by the Sibelius concerto (and/or how far is Finland from Transylvania?). The second movement is certainly very passionate and lyrical, and though it might not include one of the most beautiful melodies ever written, it is still very beautiful indeed. The final movement moves to a more joyous tone, and it opens with a rather bold and buoyant theme on the solo violin -- and (from the Wikipedia article) the movement offers “a complete and brilliant display of violin gymnastics." This concerto is certainly one I would love to see/hear performed live. Perhaps when the pandemic ends and concerts return (PLEASE Anti-vaxxers: Dispense with your short-sighted politics, don a mask, get poked, and let's end this thing) maybe Hilary Hahn will come to town? That would be magnifico. : )
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A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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