View source for Cello Concerto (Elgar)

{{Short description|Musical work by Edward Elgar}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Elgar-Beatrice-Harrison-HMV-November1920.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Elgar and [[Beatrice Harrison]] making the first (abridged) recording of the concerto (1920). Note the [[acoustic recording]] horns. Harrison would go on to make the first complete recording in 1928.]]
[[Edward Elgar]]'s '''Cello Concerto in E minor''', Op. 85, is a cornerstone of the solo [[cello]] repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the [[First World War]], when his music had already become out of fashion with the concert-going public. In contrast with Elgar's earlier [[Violin Concerto (Elgar)|Violin Concerto]], which is lyrical and passionate, the Cello Concerto is for the most part contemplative and elegiac.

The October 1919 premiere was a debacle because Elgar and the performers had been deprived of adequate rehearsal time. Elgar made two recordings of the work with [[Beatrice Harrison]] as soloist. Since then, leading cellists from [[Pablo Casals]] onward have performed the work in concert and in the studio, but the work did not achieve wide popularity until the 1960s, when a recording by [[Jacqueline du Pré]] caught the public imagination and became a classical best-seller.

== History ==

Elgar is not known to have begun work on the concerto until 1919. In 1900 the cellist of the [[Brodsky Quartet (Adolph Brodsky Manchester)|Brodsky Quartet]], {{ill|Carl Fuchs|de|Carl Fuchs (Cellist)}}, had obtained the composer's agreement to write something for the cello one day.<ref>Moore, p. 299</ref> Fuchs and his friend the cellist [[Paul Grümmer]] later reminded Elgar of this.<ref>Moore, p. 406</ref> The composer's biographer [[Jerrold Northrop Moore]] speculates that Elgar may have recalled the promise when planning a new concerto in 1919.<ref>Moore, p. 741</ref>

In 1918 Elgar underwent an operation in London to have an infected tonsil removed.<ref>Moore, p. 714</ref> The night after his return from hospital to his London house he wrote down the melody that would become the first theme of the concerto.<ref>Moore, p. 715</ref> He and [[Alice Elgar|his wife]] soon retired to their secluded country cottage "Brinkwells" near [[Fittleworth]], Sussex. During 1918 Elgar composed three chamber works there{{refn|The [[Violin Sonata (Elgar)|Violin Sonata in E minor]], Op. 82; the [[String Quartet (Elgar)|String Quartet in E minor]], Op. 83; and the [[Piano Quintet (Elgar)|Piano Quintet in A minor]], Op. 84|group=n}} which his wife commented were noticeably different in style and character from his previous compositions. After their premieres in the spring of 1919, he began realising his idea of a cello concerto.<ref>Steinberg, pp. 185–89.</ref> The work is dedicated to [[Sidney Colvin]] and his wife, friends of Elgar.<ref name=es1>[https://www.elgarsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cello-Concerto-in-E-minor-op-85.pdf "Cello Concerto in E minor, op 85"], Elgar Society. Retrieved 1 March 2024</ref>

The concerto had a disastrous premiere, at the opening concert of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]]'s 1919–20 season on 27 October 1919. Apart from the concerto, which the composer conducted, the rest of the programme was conducted by [[Albert Coates (musician)|Albert Coates]], who overran his rehearsal time at the expense of Elgar's. Lady Elgar wrote, "that brutal selfish ill-mannered bounder ... that brute Coates went on rehearsing."<ref>Anderson, p. 141</ref> The critic of ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Ernest Newman]], wrote, "There have been rumours about during the week of inadequate rehearsal. Whatever the explanation, the sad fact remains that never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable an exhibition of itself. ... The work itself is lovely stuff, very simple – that pregnant simplicity that has come upon Elgar's music in the last couple of years – but with a profound wisdom and beauty underlying its simplicity."<ref>Newman, Ernest, "Music of the Week", ''The Observer'', 2 November 1919</ref> Elgar attached no blame to his soloist, [[Felix Salmond]], who played for him again later.<ref>Reed, p. 131</ref> Elgar said that if it had not been for Salmond's diligent work in preparing the piece, he would have withdrawn it from the concert entirely.<ref>{{cite web | last = Stevenson | first = Joseph | title = Felix Salmond: Biography | publisher = [[Allmusic]] | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=q50431/biography|pure_url=yes}} | access-date = 23 June 2007 }}</ref>

In contrast with the [[Symphony No. 1 (Elgar)|First Symphony]], which received a hundred performances worldwide in just over a year from its premiere, the Cello Concerto did not have a second performance in London for more than a year.<ref>''The Observer'', 16 January 1921, p. 15</ref> Elgar's music was by this time widely seen as old-fashioned, less appropriate to the post-war era than to the [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]].<ref name=dnb>{{cite encyclopedia|author-link=Michael Kennedy (music critic)|last=Kennedy|first=Michael|title=Elgar, Sir Edward William, baronet (1857–1934)|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/32988}}</ref> The American premiere of the concerto was given in [[Carnegie Hall]], New York on 21 November 1922 by [[Jean Gerardy]] with the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] conducted by  [[Leopold Stokowski]].<ref name=nyh>Henderson, W. J., "Gerardy Plays With Quaker Orchestra", ''New York Herald'', 22 November 1922, p. 10</ref> It was received with little enthusiasm: ''[[The New York Herald]]'' found most of the work "reflective, melancholy and generally depressing";<ref name=nyh/> ''[[The New York Times]]'' thought the thematic material "is not rich; it is spun out, sometimes pretty thin".<ref>Aldrich, Richard, "Music", ''The New York Times'', 22 November 1922, p. 18</ref> Gerardy later introduced the concerto in Poland and Australia.<ref>"Music and Drama", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 13 January 1923, p. 8; and "Evening with Gerardy", ''The Sun'', 22 April 1923, p. 2</ref> ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' found the work original, musicianly and an admirable addition to the cello repertoire, but "without the qualities that kindle the imagination of the listener".<ref>"Jean Gerardy", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 24 April 1923, p. 10</ref>

Later the concerto gained greater appreciation. In 1955 the authors of ''[[The Record Guide]]'' wrote of "the irresistible appeal of the Cello Concerto", although "the task of interpreting the solo is extremely difficult", requiring "a reserved dignity that is peculiarly English".<ref>Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor, p. 255</ref> By 1967, according to the critic [[Edward Greenfield]], [[Jacqueline du Pré]] was "convincing audiences from New York to Moscow that Elgar is – on occasion at least – exportable".<ref>March (1967), p. 15</ref>

The work has become, along with [[Dvořák]]'s [[Cello Concerto (Dvořák)|Op. 104]], one of the two most frequently performed cello concertos in the international repertoire.<ref name=es1/>

== Music ==
This work is scored for solo cello, 2 [[flute]]s, 2 [[oboe]]s, 2 [[Clarinet|clarinets in A]], 2 [[bassoon]]s, 4 [[French horn|horns in F]], 2 [[Trumpet|trumpets in C]], 3 [[trombone]]s, [[tuba]], [[timpani]], and [[Violin family|strings]].

The work typically plays for a little under 30 minutes;{{refn|Elgar's second recording with Harrison plays for 25m 11s; later recordings are generally slower: Tortelier (1954), du Pré (1965), Isserlis (1987) and Mørk (2009) range from 28m 33s to 30m.06s.|group=n}} it has four [[movement (music)|movements]]:

{{Ordered list|type=upper-roman

|[[Tempo#Italian tempo markings|Adagio]] – Moderato <small>(approx. 8:00)</small>
|Lento – Allegro molto <small>(approx. 4:30)</small>
|Adagio <small>(approx. 4:50)</small>
|Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non-troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio <small>(approx. 11:30)</small>
}}

The first movement is in [[ternary form]] with an introduction. It opens with a [[recitative]] for the solo cello, immediately followed by a short answer from the clarinets, bassoons and horn.
<score sound="1">
\relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef bass \numericTimeSignature \time 4/4 \key e \minor \tempo "Adagio" 4 = 56 <b e, g,>2\downbow\ff-^_"nobilmente" <e g, b, e,>\downbow-^ | \stemDown <d e, g, c,>8\downbow\sf[ c] b[ c] <a fis b, dis,>4\sf }
</score>

An [[ad lib]] modified scale played by the solo cello follows. The [[viola]] section then presents a rendition of the main theme in Moderato, and passes it to the solo cello who repeats it. Elgar considered it to be his tune: "if you ever hear someone whistling this melody around the [[Malvern, Worcestershire|Malvern]] Hills, that will be me".<ref>Benjamin Zander, Cello Master Classes on the Cello Concerto, 2015.</ref>
<score sound="1"> \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef treble \key e \minor \tempo "Moderato" \time 9/8 fis4(\p g8 fis4 a8 b4 a8) | g4( e8 d4 e8 c4 b8) | a4 } </score>
The string section plays the theme a third time and then the solo cello modifies it into a fortissimo restatement. The orchestra reiterates, and the cello presents the theme a final time before moving directly into a lyrical [[E major]] middle section.
<score sound="1"> \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef bass \time 12/8 \key e \major gis8.\mf( a16 gis8) cis4(\< fis8\!) fis4.\> e\! } </score>
This transitions into a similar repetition of the first section. This section omits the fortissimo modified theme in the solo cello. The slower first movement moves directly into the second movement.

[[File:Elgar-cello-concerto-manuscript.jpg|thumb|Fragment of the manuscript of the opening of the second movement of the concerto|alt=manuscript music score, faded with age]]
The second movement opens with a fast crescendo with [[pizzicato]] chords in the cello. Then, the solo cello plays what will be the main motive of the Allegro molto section.
<score sound="1"> \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef bass \key e \minor \tempo "Allegro molto" 4 = 138 \numericTimeSignature \time 4/4 b16-.\pp b-. b-. b-.\< b( d) d\! d d( b) b\> b b( a) a a\! | b4 } </score>
Pizzicato chords follow. A brief [[cadenza]] is played, and sixteenth-note motive and chords follow. A ritardando leads directly to a scherzo-like section which remains until the end.

The slow third movement starts and ends with a lyrical melody, and one theme runs through the entire movement.
<score sound="1"> \relative c { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef bass \time 3/8 \tempo "Adagio" 8 = 50 \key bes \major d8(\p\< f) bes\! | f'\>( fis g^"ten")\! | r bes,( c) | d4( f8)^"ten"\> | r\! g,( a) | bes4( d8)^"ten"\> | r\! bes-_\pp a-_ | f4 } </score>
The fourth movement begins with another fast crescendo and ends at fortissimo. The solo cello follows with another recitative and cadenza. The movement's main theme is noble and stately, but with undertones and with many key-changes.
<score sound="1"> \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef treble \time 2/4 \key e \minor \tempo "Allegro, ma non troppo" 4 = 108 e8\ff_"risoluto" r \slashedGrace { e( } g4-^) | \grace { fis16[( g] } fis8-!) e16 fis d8 c16 d | b8-> r \slashedGrace { b( } d4-^) | \grace { c16[( d] } c8)-ł| b16 c a8 b16 c | b8-> } </score>

[[File:Elgar - Cello Concerto- III. Adagio (autograph manuscript).jpg|thumb|Autograph manuscript of the beginning of the third movement of the concerto]]

Near the end of the piece, the tempo slows into a ''più lento'' section, in which a new set of themes appears.
<score sound="1"> \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"cello" \clef treble \time 3/4 \key e \minor \partial 4*1 ees4\ff | des'^"ten"\sf c bes8\> g | bes4^"ten"\sf\! aes } </score>
{{listen|type=music|filename=Edward Elgar - cello concerto in e minor, op. 85 - iv. allegro.ogg|title=IV. Allegro|description=Performed by the [[Skidmore College]] Orchestra}}
The tempo slows further, to the tempo of the third movement, and the theme from that movement is restated. This tempo continues to slow until it becomes stagnant, and the orchestra holds a chord. Then, at the very end of the piece, the recitative of the first movement is played again. This flows into a reiteration of the main theme of the fourth movement, with tension building until the final three chords, which close the piece.

== Recordings ==
{{Main|Elgar Cello Concerto discography}}
Elgar and [[Beatrice Harrison]] made a truncated recording in 1920, using the [[acoustic recording]] process.{{refn|The cuts reduced the playing time to 16m 02s.<ref>Notes to Music and Arts CD set CR-1257</ref>|group=n}} The first complete recording was made in 1928, by Harrison, Elgar and the [[New Symphony Orchestra (London)|New Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>"Gramophone Notes", ''The Musical Times'', 1 February 1929, p. 133</ref> There were later [[78 rpm]] recordings with [[W. H. Squire]] and [[Pablo Casals]] as soloists, but the work was infrequently recorded until the LP era of the 1950s to the 1970s.<ref>Clough and Cuming, p. 178</ref>

A key recording was made in 1965 by [[EMI Classics|EMI]], with British cellist Jacqueline du Pré as soloist and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by  [[John Barbirolli|Sir John Barbirolli]].{{refn|During a break in the recording session, the 20-year-old du Pré left the studio, returning to find a large audience of local musicians and critics who had heard that a star was in the making.<ref>Lebrecht, pp. 208–209</ref>|group=n}} It was this recording that according to one critic "even persuaded the Americans to listen enraptured to Elgar".<ref>March (1977), p. 363</ref> Since then there have been more than seventy recordings issued, with soloists including in the 1960s [[Pierre Fournier]] and [[Mstislav Rostropovich]], in the 1970s [[Paul Tortelier]], in the 1980s [[Lynn Harrell]], [[Heinrich Schiff]], [[Yo-Yo Ma]] and [[Steven Isserlis]], in the 1990s [[Mischa Maisky]], [[János Starker]], [[Pieter Wispelwey]] and [[Truls Mørk]], in the 2000s [[Anne Gastinel]] and [[Raphael Wallfisch]], and later [[Sol Gabetta]], [[Paul Watkins (musician)|Paul Watkins]], [[Antonio Meneses]] and [[Sheku Kanneh-Mason]].<ref>[https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3AElgar+Cello+Concerto&itemSubType=music-cd%2Cmusic-lp%2Cmusic-digital&itemType=music&limit=10&offset=1&orderBy=publicationDateAsc "Elgar Cello Concerto"], WorldCat. Retrieved 1 March 2024</ref>

In 1985 [[Julian Lloyd Webber]] recorded the concerto with the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] conducted by [[Yehudi Menuhin]]. For ''[[BBC Music Magazine]]'' Jerrold Northrop Moore chose this as the finest version to date and it won a [[Brit Award]] for "Best Classical Recording" of 1985.<ref>[http://www.julianlloydwebber.com/bbc_9_92.asp Julian Lloyd Webber] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504023430/http://www.julianlloydwebber.com/bbc_9_92.asp# |date=4 May 2016 }}, RPO, Philips 416354-2</ref> The [[BBC Radio 3]] feature "Building a Library" has presented comparative reviews of all available versions of the concerto on three occasions. ''[[The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music]]'', 2008, has three pages of reviews of the work. The only recording to receive the top recommendation of both the BBC and ''The Penguin Guide'' is du Pré's 1965 recording with the LSO and Barbirolli. Other recordings commended by both the BBC and ''The Penguin Guide'' are by Beatrice Harrison (1928);<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_218_602.shtml Beatrice Harrison] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120801014907/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_218_602.shtml |date=1 August 2012 }}, Building a Library, BBC Radio 3, accessed 24 October 2010</ref> Stephen Isserlis (1988);<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_218_603.shtml Steven Isserlis] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120728154123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_218_603.shtml |date=28 July 2012 }}, Building a Library, BBC Radio 3, accessed 24 October 2010</ref> Yo-Yo Ma (1985) and Truls Mørk (1999).<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_1039_2492.shtml Yo-Yo Ma] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120719072708/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/building/data2/rev_1039_2492.shtml |date=19 July 2012 }}, Building a Library, BBC Radio 3, accessed 24 October 2010</ref><ref>March (2007), pp. 424–426</ref>

The German periodical ''Fono Forum'' in a 2022 discographic survey of the work recommends recordings featuring as soloists Harrison, du Pré, Tortelier, [[Robert Cohen (cellist)|Robert Cohen]], [[Michaela Fukačová]], [[Daniel Müller-Schott]] and Watkins.<ref>Jürgen Schaarwächter, "Klassikkanon - Folge 135. Edward Elgar: Cellokonzert. Ladies First? Die Diskografie von Elgars "Spätwerk" wäre ohne zwei britische Cellistinnen nicht vorstellbar", ''Fono Forum'' 1/2022, pp. 24–30</ref>

==Notes, references and sources==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}
===References===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
*{{cite book | last = Anderson| first = Robert| title = Elgar| date = 1993| location = London| publisher = J. M. Dent| url =https://archive.org/details/elgar0000ande/page/140/mode/2up?brute=&q=brute | isbn = 978-0-46-086054-3}}
* {{cite book | last = Clough | first = Francis F. | author2 = G. G. Cuming | title = World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music | year = 1952 | location = London | publisher = Sidgwick and Jackson | oclc = 847382507}}
* {{cite book|last=Lebrecht|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Lebrecht|year=2007|title=The Life and Death of Classical Music|location=New York|publisher=Anchor Books|isbn=978-1-4000-9658-9}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=March|editor-first=Ivan|editor-link=Ivan March|year=1967|title=The Great Records|location=Blackpool|publisher=Long Playing Record Library|oclc=555041974}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=March|editor-first=Ivan|year=1977|orig-date=1975|edition=second|title=The Penguin Stereo Record Guide|location=London|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-046223-4}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=March|editor-first=Ivan|year=2007|title=The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music|location=London|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-103336-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Moore|first=Jerrold Northrop|author-link=Jerrold Northrop Moore|year=1999|title=Elgar – A Creative Life|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198163664}}
* {{cite book|last=Reed|first=W. H.|author-link=William Henry Reed|title=Elgar|location=London|publisher=Dent|year=1946|oclc=8858707}}
* {{cite book|last= Sackville-West |first= Edward|authorlink=Edward Sackville-West |author2=[[Desmond Shawe-Taylor (music critic)|Desmond Shawe-Taylor]]|year=1955 |title= The Record Guide |location=London |publisher=Collins |oclc= 500373060}}
*{{cite book | last =Steinberg | first =Michael | title = The Concerto: A Listener's Guide| date =1998 | location =Oxford | publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0-19-510330-4 }}

== External links ==
* {{IMSLP|work=Cello Concerto, Op.85 (Elgar, Edward)|cname=Cello Concerto}}
* [http://www.elgar.org/3cellcon.htm Guide to the Concerto from Elgar.org – includes a Musical Tour and a History]
* {{YouTube|Q6UmdmmUqZk|Vdeo}}, third movement performed by [[Julian Lloyd Webber]], conducted by [[Yehudi Menuhin]]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/elgar/notes/note_celloconc.shtml Cello Elgar's Cello Concerto], BBC
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/discoveringmusic/pip/80tke/ ''Discovering Music'' – Elgar's Cello Concerto], BBC

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[[Category:Cello concertos|Elgar Cello Concerto]]
[[Category:Concertos by Edward Elgar]]
[[Category:1919 compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions in E minor]]