Antonín Dvořák wrote his first Cello Concerto in A major, B. 10 in 1865.

Background

Unlike his famous B minor Cello Concerto, Op. 104, Dvořák's A major Concerto is traditionally overlooked, so much so that the later work is only rarely called "No. 2." There are two reasons for this fate for the three-movement earlier piece: Dvořák left it in piano-score form, un-orchestrated; and it sprawls to some 55 minutes, with outer movements about 25 and 21 minutes long, respectively. Written for cellist Ludevít Peer, it was rediscovered by composer

Günter Raphael Günter Raphael (30 April 1903 – 19 October 1960) was a German composer. Born in Berlin, Raphael was the grandson of composer Albert Becker. His first symphony was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1926 in Leipzig. From 1926 to 1934 he taug ...

years after Dvořák's death. Raphael orchestrated and heavily edited it in the late 1920s, making it more his own than Dvořák's.John Clapham, 1979, ''Dvořák'', Norton, writes that Raphael's "edition" is "so unlike Dvořák's original, that it must be regarded as a travesty of Dvořák's intentions." The 1970s brought a second editor, the Dvořák expert and curator

Jarmil Burghauser Jarmil Michael Burghauser (born Jarmil Michael Mokrý, 21 October 1921, Písek19 February 1997, Prague) was a Czech composer, conductor, and musicologist. After the short-lived Prague Spring, he incurred the disfavor of his country's Communist r ...

, who, along with cellist

Miloš Sádlo Miloš Sádlo (13 April 1912 – 14 October 2003), a Czech cellist, was born in Prague, Czech Republic. Life Born Miloš Bláha, later Miloš Zátvrzský after his step-father. He started his musical education by playing violin when he was 8 years ...

, prepared a more lightly rethought account published two ways: in an orchestration by Burghauser; and in the original piano-score form with cuts corresponding to the new orchestrated version. Burghauser took the liberty of shortening both outer movements. One can sample all three editions, since there are Supraphon recordings available (original and Burghauser) as well as

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

's frequent touring with the Raphael version, released on

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

Recordings

* CPO *
Ramon Jaffé
Cello. Rhine Philharmonic State Orchestra. Jarmil Burghauser version. *

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

Label ** Jiří Bárta, Cello. Original form, for Cello and Piano. **

, Cello. An orchestrated version by Jarmil Burghauser. * Koch Classics ** Werner Thomas-Mifune, Cello. Burghauser version. * Hyperion **

, Cello.

Mahler Chamber Orchestra The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997. The MCO appears throughout the year in about 60–70 concerts and performances. It ...

conducted by

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, Harding assembled ...

. Raphael version. In 2010, the Czech cellist Tomas Jamnik recorded a new edition of the A major concerto with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on the Supraphon label. The performers here shorten the concerto to 35 minutes, sometimes following Burghauser, but sometimes, following extensive research by themselves, finding their own solutions to some of the problems caused by only having the piano score, rather than a full orchestral version. On completion of the piano score, Dvořák would never go back to his "Concerto for 'Cello with piano accompaniment".

References

External links

Cello concerto in A major on a comprehensive Dvorak site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cello Concerto in A major (Dvorak) Compositions by Antonín Dvořák Dvorak Cello Concerto No.1, B.10 1865 compositions Compositions in A major