Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975):

Festive Overture, op. 96 (1954)

Shostakovich's musical career was like a roller-coaster of popularity varying between universal adulation and official disgrace. These external pressures made it very hard for him to express himself in his own way, which tended to be introspective and dark. There is nothing gloomy about this overture, however - it is one of his most straightforwardly upbeat works. It was written shortly after the death of Stalin, the chief architect of the composer's artistic repression, and in the same year that he was awarded an International Peace Prize for his work for peace during the previous five years. The Festive Overture is crafted very conventionally, albeit for a very large orchestra, and is very popular in the "pops" repertoire. It is just six minutes of sheer exuberance and fun.

Antonín Dvoÿrák (1841-1904):

Violin Concerto in A minor, op. 53

Allegro am non troppo

Adagio ma non troppo

Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo

Dvoÿrák wrote his only violin concerto around 1880 for the great virtuoso Joachim. Since the violin was Dvorak's own instrument, it is a pity that he did not write more, especially as it is such a beautiful and undemanding piece for the listener. Although not so well known as his Cello Concerto and his later symphonies, it is nevertheless one of his best works.

Dvoÿrák's upbringing was not at all like that of most other composers: his parents were of peasant stock but ran the village inn/store. Life was hard, but his situation allowed the young Antonín to pick up many dance tunes. By the age of five, he could play them on the fiddle. Not long after, he was able to play alongside his father in the village band. Later, during his student days, he was able to earn his living by playing viola in restaurants. Although he was obviously a talented musician from an early age, and despite the mere twenty miles to Prague from his village, an almost unimaginable separation existed between his situation and the life of a successful composer in the Bohemian capital. Dvoÿrák soon bridged that gap, partly through some fortunate connections, but in large part because of his cheerful disposition and determined hard-work. By all accounts, he was universally liked and admired throughout his life.

The concerto begins with a dialog between the rather brash and boisterous orchestra and the sweet lyrical violin. Almost imperceptibly, the two become reconciled into a harmonious rhapsody on the two opening subjects. Like the Mendelssohn concerto, it flows without interruption into the heart of the work: a beautiful adagio. Here, the soloist either sings the melody or weaves gossamer-like threads around it. As he does in so many of his slow movements, Dvoÿrák gradually builds the music to a great intensity in the central section. The Finale is based on two lively Czech dance rhythms: the furiant and the dumka. SPM regulars heard two of his other furiants in the Slavonic Dances of the last concert. The furiant is based on the "hemiolia", the alternation of three equal "feet" against two measures of 3/4 time. The dumka is a slightly more sedate duple time dance.

For those who pay attention to such things, you will notice that each movement has attached to it the cautionary ma non troppo (but not too much). It seems as if the composer wanted to write pure beautiful music without overly taxing the performers and listeners. Such is the charm of the piece and in it, Dvoÿrák has succeeded marvellously.

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936):

Pines of Rome, op. 60 (1924)

Respighi is seriously under-appreciated, even in his own Italy where, apart from Vivaldi, only operatic composers are truly revered [although Respighi wrote nine operas, they are not really in the repertoire]. Respighi's real brilliance is in orchestration, an ability which was nurtured by his studies with Rimsky-Korsakov, one of the great teachers of the subject. The young Italian's talent must have been immediately apparent to Rimsky-Korsakov, who was in the habit of holding master classes at his home in St Petersburg. One day, the story goes, the newly-arrived Respighi joined a group of hopefuls who all sent in an example of their work. Respighi was soon ushered in as the master sent out the message "I can see no-one else today". Three of his most popular pieces, namely Ancient Airs and Dances, The Birds, La Boutique Fantasque, are superb orchestrations of other composers' works.

Pines of Rome was first performed, appropriately, in Rome in December 1924. It consists of four connected sections. Respighi wrote that "he uses nature as a point of departure, in order to recall memories and visions. The century-old trees which dominate so characteristically the Roman landscape become testimony for the principal events in Roman life." The second section is particularly evocative, with its dark harmonies and insistent rhythm in 5/4 time.

The Pines of the Villa Borghese: children are at play in the pine grove of the Villa Borghese [a park close to the center of the city], dancing the Italian equivalent of "Ring around a Rosy"; mimicking marching soldiers and battles; twittering and shrieking like swallows at evening; and they disappear. Suddenly the scene changes to...

The Pines near a Catacomb: We see the shadows of the pines, which overhang the entrance of a catacomb. From the depths rises a chant which re-echoes solemnly, like a hymn, and is then mysteriously silenced.

The Pines of the Janiculum: There is a thrill in the air. The full moon reveals the profile of the pines of Gianicolo's hill. A nightingale sings.

The Pines of the Appian Way: Misty dawn on the Appian way [the ancient road into the city from the South]. The tragic country is guarded by solitary pines. To the poet's fantasy appears a vision of past glories; trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul advances brilliantly in the grandeur of a newly risen sun toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph to the Capitoline Hill,