Kabalevsky - Violin concerto op.48 (Oistrakh Edition). You can download the PDF sheet music Kabalevsky - Violin concerto op.48 (Oistrakh Edition) on this page. The 20th century Soviet composer Dmitry Kabalevsky composed this work in 1948. Kabalevsky intended this work to be an advanced and tasteful model of this genre for young players. Violin part edited by David Oistrakh. This concerto originally writed for violin and orchestra. Kabalevsky's violin concerto in C major, first performed on 29 October 1948 in Moscow by Igor Bezradny under the direction of Mikhaïl Terian, but which David Oistrakh soon afterwards amicably raised to the ranks of nobility among modern violin concertos. Fast first movement, then slow and moving second movement, and a third movement even faster and more technical than the first. Kabalevsky concerto is in fact his only one for violin. It is one of a trilogy of concertos dedicated for Soviet Youth.
To download PDF, click the "Download PDF" button below the appropriate sheet music image. To view the first page of Kabalevsky - Violin concerto op.48 (Oistrakh Edition) click the music sheet image.
|
The premiere of Kabalevsky's Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 48, took place in Moscow on 29th October 1948; the soloist was the 18 year old Igor Bezrodny and the Students' Orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory was conducted by Mikhail Tierian. When listening to this concerto we have to bear in mind the circumstances of the time: these explain why Kabalevsky composed a decidedly optimistic work, designed not to arouse the suspicions of the authorities. Although this work is sometimes referred to as 'Concerto No. 1 for violin and orchestra', Kabalevsky did not actually write any other violin concertos; it is, however, the first in a trilogy of concertos for various instruments, dedicated to Soviet Youth - a shrewd move in the circumstances. Another 'precaution' taken by the composer was to take part of the thematic material from an old anthology entitled 'Songs of the Russian People'; he could thus demonstrate that he was fulfilling the requirements of Socialist Realism concerning 'closeness to the people'.
The first movement is marked Allegro molto e con brio, and its brilliance is so vehement that one could almost mistake it for a finale. The key is C major but, as often with Kabalevsky, it is made more piquant by repeated sudden excursions into the minor. The second theme, in G minor, contributes a hint of gypsy music, but is soon followed by the development with its skilful use of pizzicato. Although the tempo was already very fast, an accelerando after the recapitulation leads to the movement's effective conclusion. The underlying character of the Andante cantabile is melancholy, and a faster, almost recitative like middle section cannot dispel this impression. In the reprise, towards the end of the movement, the violin theme is taken over by the orchestra; the melancholy gradually gives way, and the movement ends in a conciliatory major. The finale is marked Vivace giocoso, and its playful first theme is genuinely joyful; harmonically it is ambiguous, and Kabalevsky interprets it alternately as C major and A minor. The degree of virtuosity is constantly augmented until it is given free rein in a cadenza. The violin arpeggios after the cadenza are reminiscent of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and the powerfully constructed conclusion seems to invite applause.
And yet, ye gods ! precisely what formalism", what smiling platitudes, and agreeable conventionality this concerto contains ! To transcend these qualities requires an artist of the calibre of David Oistrakh who, like Maria Callas, knew how to give the most sublime expression to a work that is rather thin in this respect. One might well ask why re-issue a work of which the musical content is not of the first order ? But there is, after all, some pleasure to be derived from music of this kind, as there is from listening to Lakme or Mignon : charm is by no means the least admirable of qualities. Here it lies in the equivocal major-minor mood of the opening Allegro molto, in the way in which consistency is given to the reverie of the Andantino cantabile, with its contrasts devoid of any trace of affectation, and in the bubbling verve which becomes roguishly scintillating of the Finale.
|