This month’s educational corner is a continuation of the series of articles discussing the up-coming performance of Bela Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra in March. The piece is one of Bartok’s most known works, but is considerably different in style than that of his other music. We hope to bring some insight into who the real Bela Bartok is, and what a great and exciting piece of music this is. For this month, we are focusing on the term concerto.

The March 8th WSO concert features two works with the title Concerto: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. The term concerto is usually applied to a work for a solo instrument with orchestra accompaniment. During the Baroque period (1600-1750) the concerto grosso was a popular type of composition, in which a grouping

Bela Bartok, the founder of the ethnomusicology field, was an important figure in music of the first half of the 20th Century.

of several instruments would play in contrast with the full orchestra. Several of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are concerti grossi. Vivaldi was important in furthering the solo concerto, writing hundreds of works featuring a solo instrument (a violin, bassoon, cello, etc.) with alternating sections where the solo instrument is accompanied by the orchestra and tutti passages (tutti meaning all, as in tutti frutti) where the entire orchestra shares in the thematic material.

The solo concerto of the Classical Period usually has three movements. The first movement is typically in sonata-allegro form with a double exposition (played first by the orchestra tutti, then by the soloist), a development, a return of the original material called the recap, and a coda (the ending material.) Usually a cadenza is inserted between the recap and the coda, where the orchestra stops playing and the soloist plays freely for a time (either written out or improvised) showy material designed to display his virtuosity. The second movement is usually slow and lyrical. The third movement is often a rondo (consisting of a recurring theme alternating with contrasting themes) or a theme and variations. The average total length of a Mozart violin concerto is around 25 minutes.

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto follows the form of a classical concerto. The first movement is in sonata-allegro form, the second movement is a warm and beautiful Larghetto, and the third is a Rondo.   However, Beethoven’s Concerto is greatly expanded in scope. The first movement alone lasts for 23 minutes.

The work was composed in 1806 for a leading violinist of the day, Franz Clement. The story is told that the solo part was completed so late that Clement had to sight read at the first performance! The premiere was not a success and the work was not played much until after Beethoven’s death. It has since become standard repertoire for mature violinists, demanding technical skill, stamina, and refined musicianship. Violinist Jennifer Frautschi will be the featured soloist with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra in the March 8 performance of this great concerto.

Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra is not a solo concerto, nor is it a true concerto grosso, as there is not just one group of solo instruments set off from the orchestral tutti.  It is called Concerto primarily because that is the title Bartok gave to the work, which the composer explained is due to the fact that it features each section of the orchestra in a soloistic manner, requiring virtuoso playing from all.

Despite Bartok’s use of elements of Eastern European folk music, modal influences, and numerous contrapuntal textures, the work is essentially neo-classical. It is in five movements, in an overall arch form, with smaller arches within the movements.  The first and final movements are in sonata-allegro form. The second movement features pairs of instruments (bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes and trumpets), a beautiful brass chorale, followed by a return of the pairs. The third movement, marked “Elegy,” is a somber and moving example of Bartok’s famous “night music.” The fourth movement alternates a beautiful flowing melody with a simple dance, interrupted by a parody of the “Nazi march” from the Symphony No. 7 of Shostokovich.

If you would like to come and hear Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, be sure to get your tickets now by calling the symphony office at 203-574-4283 or by visiting our E-Box Office.

In the next e-newsletter, we will take a closer look at the musical elements of Bartok’s great masterwork.