Cello Concerto in D minor - Reinhold Glière

Russian Cinematographic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sergei Skripka. Sergei Sudzilovsky as the cellist.

I - Allegro (𝅗𝅥. = 60) - Più mosso - Più animato - Tempo I (Animato) - Più animato - Cadenza. Meno mosso - Tranquillo - Poco animato - Più mosso - Meno mosso - Più mosso - Meno mosso - Più mosso - Presto - Meno mosso - Poco pesante - Tempo del comincio - Animato - Più mosso - Più animato: 0:00
II - Andante (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = 64) - Pochissimo più mosso - Tempo I - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Pochissimo più mosso - Tempo I - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Meno mosso - Tempo I. Molto tranquillo: 21:57
III - Allegro vivace (𝅘𝅥 = 132) - Poco meno mosso - Agitato poco - Poco meno mosso - Poco tranquillo - Tempo I - Animato - Meno mosso - Poco agitato - Meno mosso - Tempo I - Più mosso - Meno mosso: 38:35

Glière's Cello Concerto was composed between 1945-6, being commissioned by legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. It was premiered in Moscow on April 18 of 1947, performed by the USSR All-Union National Radio and Central Television Symphony Orchestra conducted by Aleksander Orlov, with S. N. Knuschevizki as the cellist. The concerto is noteworthy for its grand scale and heroic tone, Knuschevizki described it as "an epic symphony with an instrument solo".

Despite being written between 1945-6 and most notably after the end of a horrible war, the piece could easily had been composed more than fifty years before. Glière's style was always firmly anchored in the Russian nationalist romantic tradition, only slightly updated by French Impressionism and German Postromanticism. By the times, Glière was a relic from the past, which ironically, made him useful as a prime example of socialist realism, an artistic policy enforced by the soviet state on those composers who attempted to go beyond said aesthetic. It is also important to note that the piece was written shortly after Myaskovsky's Cello Concerto in C minor (1944-5) and Kachaturian's Cello Concerto in E minor (1946), both pieces heavily tragic and elegiac in nature.

The first movement is written in a modified, large-scale concert sonata form. It begins with a dramatic orchestral introduction, which is soon fleshed out as the agitated and expressive main theme, exposed by the soloist. It is immediately developed before being suddenly interrupted. A lyrical second theme, deeply Russian in flavour, is introduced by the oboe and then taken by the cello. The development continues and forms a vast part of the movement, with both themes being transformed extensively. A powerful climax is reached, which leads to the recapitulation of the two themes. After a new climax, an extensive cadenza for solo cello begins derived from the main theme, exploring the timbrical and technical possibilities of the instrument. It leads to a second, more varied recapitulation of the material. A dramatic coda, based on the main theme, ends the movement with decision.

The second movement takes the form of a theme and variations. It opens with pastoral phrases from woodwinds supported by muted strings. The cello, in its highest register, presents a deeply lyrical and rich main theme, folkish in its shape. It is then subjected to a series of contrasting variations in which the material undergoes various transformations; rhythmical, timbrical and textural, all while highlighting the cello's singing voice and the soloist's virtuosity. There is also a pervasive nocturnal quality to the music. In the final part of the movement, the main theme is recapitulated in its original form, reaching a passionate climax. A highly poetic coda ends the movement with a magical touch from cello harmonics.

The third movement is also written in sonata form. It begins with a lively and animated main theme, introduced by the orchestra and taken by the cello in form a virtuosic dance. It is contrasted by a lyrical second theme on strings, also taken by the soloist. It is fleshed out in a series of dialogues between cello and woodwinds. A powerful climax leads us to the development section, which is mostly derived from the second theme. The recapitulation is varied in nature, as well as dominated by the soloist. A coda full of virtuosity and vitality ends the work with great energy.

Picture: "Manifest" (1949-50) by the Polish painter Wojciech Weiss.

Musical analysis mostly written by myself. Source: https://tinyurl.com/29p946b4

To check the score (Piano reduction): https://tinyurl.com/2d76q358