Cello Concerto (Dvořák)

[1][2] The piece is scored for a full romantic orchestra (with the exception of a fourth horn), containing two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle (last movement only), and strings, and is in the standard three-movement concerto format: Total duration: approximately 40 minutes.

He handed the cello score (with piano accompaniment) over to Peer for review but neither bothered to finish the piece.

In a letter to a friend, Dvořák wrote that he himself was probably most surprised by his decision to write a cello concerto despite these long-held reservations.

[3] Dvořák heard at least two performances of the piece and was inspired to fulfill Wihan's request in composing a cello concerto of his own.

The third movement was a tribute to his sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzova, née Čermakova, who had written him a letter in November 1894 saying she was seriously ill.[6] Specifically, the slow, wistful section, before the triumphant ending, quotes his song "Leave Me Alone (Kéž duch můj sám)", Op.

[8] Dvořák wrote to his publishers:[9] I give you my work only if you will promise me that no one – not even my friend Wihan – shall make any alteration in it without my knowledge and permission, also that there be no cadenza such as Wihan has made in the last movement; and that its form shall be as I have felt it and thought it out.The finale, he wrote, should close gradually with a diminuendo "like a breath ... then there is a crescendo, and the last measures are taken up by the orchestra, ending stormily.

The Philharmonic Society insisted on the date and hired the English cellist Leo Stern without consulting Dvořák.

In December 1896 and during 1897–1898 the concerto was performed by a few cellists and conductors in England and the United States, including Stern in Chicago in January 1897.

Wihan went on to perform the concerto with great success, first in January 1899 at The Hague, and later for the first time under Dvořák's baton in Budapest on 20 December 1899.

The solo cello begins with a quasi improvisando section stating the theme in B major followed by triple-stopped chords.

In the development, the orchestra gradually modulates to A-flat minor, with the cello steering the orchestra to a triumphant tutti section in B major, followed by a recapitulation and a technically grueling coda, featuring seemingly endless octaves, double stops, and virtuosic runs.

After a brief tutti section, the cello enters with a somber melody that dissolves into joyous quintuplets in D major.

Another author tells a story that one day when Dvořák was in New York but not at the Conservatory, said to be ill, a visitor to his home found him there composing.

"[17] Although the time is not specified, it might be understandable that in the later part of his sojourn at the Conservatory, when his salary had been cut and still not paid regularly, Dvořák could have felt less obligation to his duties.

Notable recordings include performances by Pablo Casals, Emanuel Feuermann, Pierre Fournier, Gregor Piatigorsky, Jacqueline du Pré, Bernard Greenhouse, Leonard Rose, Johannes Moser, Gauthier Capuçon, Truls Mork, Mischa Maisky, Julian Lloyd Webber and Steven Isserlis.

Yo-Yo Ma's recording of five "Great Cello Concertos" includes Dvořák's, Elgar's, one of Haydn's, Saint-Saëns' first, and Schumann's.