Beethoven: Violin Concerto and Haydn: Symphony No. 45 | Mahler Chamber Orchestra & Pekka Kuusisto

A fresh take on the familiar with Beethoven's Violin Sonata, Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, Thomas Adès' "Three Studies by Couperin," and Missy Mazzoli's "Dissolve, O My Heart". This concert with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the direction of violinist Pekka Kuusisto adheres to a particular concept: to reinterpret existing music and reinvent the concert situation. Each of the four works performed showcases how traditional forms can be recast in a vibrant and different way. Prepare for a fascinating concert experience at the 2023 Beethovenfest Bonn in the auditorium of the University of Bonn.

(00:00) Anticipation

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61,
(00:09) I. Allegro ma non troppo
(22:52) II. Larghetto
(30:52) III. Rondo. Allegro

Thomas Adès: "Three Studies from Couperin" for chamber orchestra
(44:31) I. Les Amusemens
(49:29) II. Les Tours de passe-passe
(54:05) III. L'Âme-en-peine

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, Hob.I:45 "Farewell"
(1:07:09) I. Allegro assai
(1:12:45) II. Adagio
(1:21:04) III. Minuet. Allegretto – Trio
(1:25:05) IV. Finale. Presto – Adagio

(1:32:38) Missy Mazzoli: "Dissolve, O My Heart" for solo violin

All four compositions in this concert are about renewal; gaining new perspective on the old and the traditional. In the Beethoven Violin Concerto, it’s the violin solo part that gets a revamp: Pekka Kuusisto plays his own arrangement of the solo based on a preliminary version of the concerto. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) composed his only completed violin concerto for the violinist and colleague Franz Clement. Clement enjoyed great fame at the time and premiered the work in Vienna in 1806. As the story goes, Beethoven was so late finishing the solo violin part that Clement was forced to sight read much of it during the concert and improvise the cadences. Initially something of a flop, the concerto was rarely performed in the ensuing years. It became a hit in 1844 – after a performance by 12-year-old Joseph Joachim in London conducted by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. This positioned Beethoven’s Violin Concerto as a formative work for the entire genre and it has been part of the standard repertoire ever since. Numerous composers and violinists have written their own cadences. Pekka Kuusisto has once again consulted original handwritten sources and created his own new version for solo violin.

In his "Three Studies from Couperin" for chamber orchestra, Thomas Adès (*1971) was inspired by three harpsichord works by François Couperin (1668–1733), court composer to Louis XIV.. Couperin’s character pieces are a musical expression of pleasures, chicanery and the anguish of the soul. As reflected in Couperin’s titles, which Adès also adopted for his work: "Les Amusemens", "Les Tours de passe-passe" and "L'Âme-en-peine". In the Adès version for chamber orchestra, the length of the Couperin pieces and their harmonic structure are retained, while the rhythms and timbres are new. This suddenly recasts French Baroque music in Thomas Adès’ typical compositional style. His dazzling three-movement orchestral work has been performed many times since 2006 in more than 20 countries.

In the Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor (Hob.I:45), popularly known as the Farewell, Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) shows his experimental side. The novel aspect of this Haydn symphony was its ending. Known as the father of Viennese classicism, Haydn did something quite revolutionary, breaking with conventions that dictated how a piece should be finished. Instead of the entire orchestra concluding the symphony together, each member of the orchestra reached the end of their pat and left the stage until just two violinists remained. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this was Haydn’s way of protesting working conditions at the court of Prince Esterházy. The musicians to be able to take a vacation. Apparently, the protest worked and they got their holiday.

The link between old and new in "Dissolve, O my Heart" for solo violin by the US compose Missy Mazzoli (*1980) is established by the very first chord of the piece. It’s the same chord that begins one of the most famous pieces for solo violin ever written: the Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750). The first chord of Bach’s D minor partita is so enigmatic it’s immediately recognizable – even though Mazzoli’s violin piece follows a very different developmental course thereafter. Finally, Mazzoli’s title "Dissolve, O my Heart" is a direct reference to the final aria of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion ("Zerfließe, mein Herz").

© 2023 Deutsche Welle

Thumbnail photo: © Molina Visuals

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