Sibelius Violin Concerto
Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast29 Kesä 2023

Sibelius Violin Concerto

There's a joke among classical musicians that the only parts of a piece that matter are the beginning, the end, and one place in the middle. I don't think its something that anyone really believes in, but the value of the beginning of a piece in setting the scene cannot be ignored, and the absolutely stunning opening of the Sibelius violin concerto is no exception. A soft carpet of violins slowly oscillating between two notes sets up the entrance of the violinist, who over the course of the concerto will do just about everything a violin is capable of doing, all in a concerto of both eye-popping difficulty, but also heartwarming AND heartbreaking warmth, passion and character. There is often what is described as the "Big 5" of violin concerti, which includes the concerti of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn. The Sibelius violin concerto is the only 20th century violin concerto that has found its way into the Big 5 and there's a reason for it. All of those concerti synthesized the need for virtuosity with the imperative of writing truly great music. But to me, and this might be a controversial opinion, no one did it quite like Sibelius. We'll hear all about the concerto, the circumstances that created its disastrous opening, and ask the question of what makes Sibelius such a distinctive composer, someone who sounds like no one else on earth.

Jaksot(284)

Mahler Symphony No. 4, Part 1

Mahler Symphony No. 4, Part 1

After the truly heavenly slow movement of Mahler's 4th symphony, a soprano emerges and sings a song literally called "The Heavenly Life." It is a symphonic ending like no other, one that leaves the li...

14 Syys 202351min

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 2

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 2

If you joined me last week, you heard about the severe intestinal illness that Beethoven suffered from during the year of 1825. Beethoven thought that he was near death; he was spitting up blood, in ...

8 Syys 202344min

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 1

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 1

I had long hesitated to write a show about any of Beethoven's late string quartets. These are pieces that professional quartets spend the better part of their careers grappling with, struggling with,...

31 Elo 202345min

Nielsen Symphony No. 4, "Inextinguishable"

Nielsen Symphony No. 4, "Inextinguishable"

At the top of the score for the Danish composer Carl Nielsen's 4th symphony, he wrote: "Music is life, and like it, inextinguishable." This could easily be the shortest podcast I've ever done. I could...

24 Elo 202359min

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

The stories, legends, and myths about the trials and travails of composers lives are legion, like Beethoven's battles against fate, Mozart and Schubert's struggles with finances, Brahms' failures with...

17 Elo 202352min

Elgar Cello Concerto

Elgar Cello Concerto

Elgar's Cello Concerto was composed in the shadow of World War 1. It was a piece that marked a profound shift in Elgar's outlook on life and music, and was his last major work before a long silence ca...

10 Elo 202352min

Romeo and Juliet in Classical Music

Romeo and Juliet in Classical Music

The "love theme" from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture is one of the most famous themes in the history of Western Classical Music. The story it accompanies might be the most famous Wes...

3 Elo 202349min

Mozart Symphony No. 38, "Prague"

Mozart Symphony No. 38, "Prague"

Very few cities have had a relationship with a single person, especially a foreigner, like the city of Prague and its love affair with Mozart. Here's what Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for som...

27 Heinä 202353min

Suosittua kategoriassa Viihde

anni-jaajo
tuplakaak
grekovit
hei-baby-3
terveisia-perheesta
the-harlin-show
dear-shirly
antin-palautepalvelu
bella-table
antin-elokuvakerho
everypodi
verhon-takaa
dear-shirly-ja-arttu
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
nonsensepodi
get-jassud
tahtitehdas
terkuin-jenna
hollywood-love-stories-2
tervo-halme