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Cello Concerto No. 1 (Saint-Saëns)

Camille Saint-Saëns composed his Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, in 1872, when he was 37 years old. He wrote this work for the French cellist, viola da gamba player and instrument maker Auguste Tolbecque. Tolbecque was part of a distinguished family of musicians closely associated with the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, France's leading concert society. The concerto was first performed on January 19, 1873, at the Paris Conservatoire concert with Tolbecque as soloist. This was considered a mark of Saint-Saëns' growing acceptance by the French musical establishment.

Sir Donald Francis Tovey later wrote "Here, for once, is a violoncello concerto in which the solo instrument displays every register without the slightest difficulty in penetrating the orchestra."[1][2] Many composers, including Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, considered this concerto to be the greatest of all cello concertos.[3] Yo-Yo Ma's recording of five "Great Cello Concertos" includes Dvořák's, Elgar's, Haydn's 2nd, Saint-Saëns' first, and Schumann's.[4]

Structure and overview

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Saint-Saëns broke with convention in writing the concerto. Instead of using the normal three-movement concerto form, he structured the piece in one continuous movement. This single movement contains three distinct sections. Those sections, tightly structured, share interrelated ideas. Saint-Saëns' contact with Franz Liszt while serving as organist at the Église de la Madeleine may have led him to use cyclic form in his orchestral works.[citation needed]

Along with the solo cello, the concerto is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

 
I. Allegro non Troppo
II. Allegretto con Moto
III. (Tempo Primo)
Skidmore College Orchestra
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The work can be split into three different sections as follows:

  1. Allegro non troppo
    The concerto begins unusually. Instead of the traditional orchestral introduction, the piece begins with one short chord from the orchestra. The cello follows, stating the main motif. Soon, countermelodies flow from both the orchestra and soloist, at times the two playfully "calling and answering" each other.
  2. Allegretto con moto
    This turbulent opening movement leads into a brief but highly original minuet, in which the strings are muted, and which contains a cello cadenza.
  3. Tempo primo
    A restatement of the opening material from the first movement opens the finale. Saint-Saëns introduces two new themes but also includes the recapitulation of the fourth theme from the first movement, tying the whole design together.[2] After a final restatement of the opening theme, he concludes by introducing an entirely new idea for the cello.

Saint-Saëns very often uses the solo cello here as a declamatory instrument. This keeps the soloist in the dramatic and musical foreground, the orchestra offering a shimmering backdrop. The music is tremendously demanding for soloists, especially in the fast third section. This difficulty has not stopped the concerto from becoming a favourite of the great virtuoso cellists.

1st movement, 1st theme (A minor)
 
1st movement, 2nd theme
 
1st movement, 3rd theme
 
1st movement, 4th theme (piano reduction, F major)
 
2nd movement theme (B♭ major)
 
3rd movement, 1st theme (A minor)
 
3rd movement, 2nd theme (F major)
 
3rd movement, 3rd theme (A major)
 

Recordings

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References

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  1. ^ Tovey, Donald (1935). Essays in Musical Analysis, Vol. III, Concertos. Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ a b Tovey, Donald (1989). Essays in Musical Analysis; Vol. 2, Concertos and Choral Works. Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN 0-19-315149-9.
  3. ^ "Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33". musopen.org. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Great Cello Concertos". Yo-Yo Ma. 1989. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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