Program Notes
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
CORIOLAN OVERTURE, OP. 62
Duration: ca. 8 minutes
Composed in 1807 for Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s
play Coriolanus – about an alienated Roman general
– this overture was anything but a complement to
the action. In fact, it was so dramatically top heavy
it rendered the play impotent. Here was an overture
that felt like a compact symphony (and a model for
the tone poems of Liszt and Strauss much later), and
became a stand-alone concert piece independent
of text or action.
While the play has vanished, the music lives on as
one of Beethoven’s most-performed short works,
and for good reason, notes Jan Swafford in his
biography Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph. “With
this piece, Beethoven more or less invented what
came to be called the concert overture and no less
what was to be called the symphonic poem. Since
the overture needed to evoke the story somehow,
and since it was intended to have its own life
outside the play, Beethoven could indulge in music
with less risk of being condemned for it.’’
From the powerful opening chords, listeners
immediately feel the urgent pull of Beethoven in his
full heroic-era mode. This is music of turbulence, the
harmonies intentionally unstable, a fight between
two majestic themes in the keys of C minor and
E-flat major that struggle to resolve before giving
way to pianissimo strings.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, OP. 61
Duration: ca. 42 minutes
The evolution of Beethoven’s creative genius makes
for one of the more interesting biographies of any
artist. Plagued by financial troubles most of his
life, deafness by age 30, a variety of illnesses, and
a paradoxical relationship with those around him,
THE FLORIDA OR 48 CHESTRA | 2019-2020
Beethoven could easily have given into what he
called his “unfavorable fate.’’ Instead, he persisted,
and his stubbornness − his most resilient trait −
literally changed 19th century musical thought and
action.
An example of his persistence can be seen in the
year 1806, when deafness forced him to compose
in the “absence’’ of sound, and he had to rely on
conversation books to communicate. His resolve,
however, overcame his liability, evident in a
remarkable outpouring of work that included the
Razumovsky string quartets, the Appassionata piano
sonata, the Fourth Symphony, the main elements of
the Fourth Piano Concerto – and the work you will
hear tonight, the Violin Concerto.
The Fourth Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto share
similar openings: lengthy orchestral introductions
that set the stage for the solo instrument. They also
share a sense of spaciousness and are more graceful
than frenetic. Unlike the Brahms or Tchaikovsky
violin concertos – which share the same key of D
major – Beethoven’s work is not about power and
bravura but poise and spirituality.
“I personally feel this is the violin concerto of all time,
a real monument,’’ said Simone Lamsma, soloist
in this weekend’s concerts. “There’s a grandeur
combined with such elegance throughout.’’
At about 45 minutes, the concerto requires
stamina, and while the writing for the violin is, in
essence, a series of fragmented themes, it exhibits
a remarkable cohesion. “Part of the genius of this
work is how well constructed it is and how many
shorter lines, fragments and details are all part of
a much bigger whole,’’ Lamsma said. “Trying to
understand and internalize the architecture is key
to delivering a successful performance.’’
This unity begins at the very opening with five
quiet taps on the kettledrum and then settles into a