THINGS STRINGS

posted by James Reel

Speaking of Strings magazine (see the entry below), I’ve neglected to post links to my contributions to the December issue. First, an article about something you may have heard here on KUAT-FM:

RACHEL BARTON PINE is out to prove that Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was not an isolated work of genius. She doesn’t quibble with the genius part, but the concerto, so unlike the earlier works of Mozart, didn’t come out of nowhere. And Pine has a concerto in hand to prove it: a work by Franz Clement (1780–1842), the violinist-composer for whom Beethoven wrote his own concerto. Clement’s work predates Beethoven’s by a full year. Pine, a 33-year-old Chicago-based solo violinist and chamber player, has recorded the D major concertos of Clement and Beethoven in tandem on a newly released CD, and their similarities are striking. In 1806, Clement conducted and performed the solo in Beethoven’s concerto, which the latter had written specifically for Clement. The two works bear out a contemporary description of Clement’s playing style: “indescribably delicate, neat, and elegant,” according to an 1805 Leipzig music journal. “It has an extremely delightful tenderness and cleanness that undoubtedly secures him a place among the most perfect violinists.” Contrast this with the style of another violinist close to Beethoven, Ignaz Schuppanzigh, a teacher of Beethoven’s who participated in premieres and early performances of almost all the composer’s string quartets, from Op. 59 on. Beethoven called Schuppanzigh’s playing “fiery and expressive,” although this may have come at the expense of playing in tune, especially in upper positions. Nevertheless, the violin writing in Beethoven’s quartets, tailored for Schuppanzigh, tends to be much more aggressive than what’s found in his concerto. “The French concertos of that time, by Kreutzer and Rode and those guys, kept the violin front and center with the orchestra just a backup band,” Pine says. “Clement and Beethoven take a more collegial or even chamber-music approach. People talk about how unusual it was for Beethoven to do that, but Clement did it first.”

That’s just the beginning; the full article awaits you here.

While you’re at the site, if you’re a working musician you might want to read an article I wrote about royalties and copyright, but I honestly don’t expect you to look at it if it has no practical application to what you do. (As if I honestly expected you to follow the links to the other stuff I write.)