Rochester Beacon: A new cello concerto for the RPO
A new cello concerto for the RPO
Jennifer Higdon is one of the most popular contemporary American composers. Julian Schwarz is an outstanding young American cellist. And Andreas Delfs, of course, is the esteemed and popular conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
These three estimable musicians have never joined forces before, but they’re now excited to be preparing this weekend’s premiere performances, on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, of Higdon’s Cello Concerto. The concert will also feature Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and Samy Moussa’s “Elysium.”
The RPO has played several of Higdon’s works, including her Pulitzer Prize-winning Violin Concerto, under Delfs, and shared a 2020 Grammy Award for the orchestra’s recording of Higdon’s Harp Concerto, conducted by former RPO music director Ward Stare. (The Cello Concerto will also be recorded live this weekend as part as the RPO’s “Voices of Today” project.)
As that paragraph suggests, Higdon has written several concertos; in fact, she has written 17, including two each for violin and viola, one for percussion, one for tuba, and even one for mandolin. But never one for cello—until now.
“I’ve written plenty of music including the cello,” she notes, “including seven string quartets and a lot of other chamber music. And my orchestral works often seem to have a prominent cello solo in them somewhere.”
She describes her concerto as in four movements, about 25 minutes long, and, in honor of its dedicatee and his instrument, pre-eminently lyrical. “Julian has an incredible sound,” she says, “and I really wanted to show off his playing.”
Her preparation included study of many past masterpieces for the cello, from J.S. Bach’s suites up to contemporary works: “The repertoire has an incredible history, from Bach to the Dvořák concerto, and it all has something to give.” The piece also benefited from back-and-forth email contact between composer and soloist. “That’s an advantage Beethoven never had!”
Higdon’s concerto is not only a showcase for Schwarz, but also for the RPO. “Knowing what the RPO players are capable of, I wanted to allow them to show off as well,” she says. “There are many chamber music-like passages where it’s just Julian and a couple of instruments.”
There’s a practical aspect to this as well: The cello can sing a melody like an opera singer, but unlike most opera singers, it does not project very strongly and is easily drowned out by a full orchestra. A successful cello concerto is a balancing act for a skillful composer.
“As a composer, Jennifer knows exactly what she wants to write,” Schwarz says. He describes her new work as “kind of a chamber concerto. I often play with soloists within the orchestra. She has a vocal, lyric approach to the cello, and I love the different tonal colors in her compositions.
“As a cellist,” he adds, “I love the great repertoire and exploring neglected cello repertoire. But I also love bringing new pieces to life, and I’ve premiered many wonderful works.”
By promoting this new American work, he is also following in the footsteps of his father, the conductor Gerard Schwarz, who has championed and recorded music of many American composers, notably the symphonies of Rochester’s Howard Hanson and David Diamond.
“I grew up knowing about all those American composers from my father,” he recalls, “and their music was just as much a part of my life as Bach’s or Beethoven’s.”
Schwarz says he has plenty of subsequent performances of the concerto scheduled this season, in Syracuse (the home of its commissioners, Robert and Vicky Lieberman), Pasadena, Alabama, and Idaho.
Delfs has conducted several of Higdon’s orchestral works, including her popular “Blue Cathedral.” Her music, he thinks, has a sturdy audience appeal lacking in much contemporary music.
“Her music always has an architecture; she’s very good at creating a musical skeleton, a scaffolding,” says Delfs. “There’s always something to engage the brain. But she is also a world-class painter. She gives every orchestral color the chance to shine.”
In her cello concerto, those colors include not only solo woodwinds and brass, but a percussion section including glass bottles and knitting needles.
Three more new Higdon compositions are premiering within a couple of weeks of the Cello Concerto: a dance piece for Miami’s New World Symphony; and works based on words by two iconic Americans, Benjamin Franklin and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to be performed in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., respectively.
It’s such a busy schedule that she can’t be present for every premiere. But, she admits, “it’s a great problem to have. I sometimes feel like the most fortunate composer in the universe.”
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra presents the premiere performances of Jennifer Higdon’s Cello Concerto with Julian Schwarz, cello, and Andreas Delfs, conductor, on April 18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 19 at 2 p.m. Information and tickets at rpo.org
David Raymond is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing Letters@RochesterBeacon.com.
