Jan Kalivoda: Violin Concertino No. 5 in A minor, Op. 133

It is my sincere desire that all remuneration that may be my due be forwarded instead to the label and musicians who participated in the recording of this music.

Jan Křtitel Václav Kalivoda (1801–1866)

Violin Concertino No. 5 in A minor, Op. 133

I. Allegro moderato 0:00
II. Adagio 8:31
III. Rondo: Allegro 12:36

Ariadne Daskalakis, violin
Die Kölner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willen, conductor

Jan Kalivoda (Johan Baptist Wenzel Kawlliwoda in German) was a composer, conductor and violinist of Bohemian birth.

Kalivoda was born in Prague in 1801 and as early as 1811 started studying violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory. He made his debut as a violinist at the age of 14. Upon completion of his studies he became a member of the Prague Opera Orchestra. His diploma from the Conservatory read "Excellent player solo or in an orchestra...shows great talent in composition." More prosperous tours as a violinist, for instance to Linz and Munich, followed.

Kalivoda lived what appears to have been a stable, hardworking musical life. For over forty years, from 1822 to 1865, he held the post of conductor at the court of Prince Karl Egon II of Fürstenberg and his successor in Donaueschingen (where the Danube begins in the Black Forest). His duties there included not only the writing of and care for the music of the court and church, but also the management and conducting of a choir, and annual musical journeys for education. These manifold responsibilities may have foreshortened his life. In any case, he went into retirement in 1865, and a year later he died, of a heart attack in Karlsruhe.

Kalivoda "represents a sort of symphonic 'missing link' between Beethoven and Schumann," writes the critic David Hurwitz, founder of Classics Today. "His melodic appeal and rhythmic energy undoubtedly have something to do with his Czech roots...but he also had a genuine understanding of symphonic development and real contrapuntal skill." Hurwitz observes that "as the predominance of minor keys suggests, his music has passion and an emotional depth that recalls Beethoven without ever descending into mere imitation. Part of the reason for his distinctiveness stems from his skill at orchestration."...The symphonic music of Kalliwoda is "thrilling, and it strikingly anticipates or echoes so much of 19th century music--from Berlioz to Dvorák to Wagner, and even Sibelius..."

His son Wilhelm Kalliwoda (1827–1893) continued his father's career, and worked as Kapellmeister for the Baden court in Karlsruhe, also composing (an Impromptu for piano was published as his opus 3 in Leipzig in 1854 ). During the 1850s he is mentioned by Alan Walker as a conductor at the Lower Rhenish Music Festival.