Domenico Nordio - Malipiero, Busoni: Violin Concertos (2018)

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Domenico Nordio - Malipiero, Busoni: Violin Concertos (2018)

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Gianfrancesco Malipiero (1882-1973), harboured particular affection for his Concerto No. 1 for Violin, that he “finished composing” on 10th March 1932. Malipiero considered his solo concertos composed in the fertile years “prayers.” (We refer not only to the Concerto for Cello but also to the felicitous Concerto No. 1 for Violin composed in 1933, to the first two Concertos for Piano, respectively written in 1934 and 1937 and to the Concerto a tre – for violin, cello and piano – composed in 1938.)

The Venetian composer wanted to emphasise his concept of an “anti-virtuoso” concert performance, obtained by including the soloist in a dialogue with the primus inter pares orchestra, as was the case during the pre-classical era. The first performance took place at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (5th March 1933): Pierre Monteux accompanied the American violinist Viola Mitchell, the youngest of Eugène Ysaÿe’s pupils. Then Mitchell herself performed the Concerto with Hermann Scherchen first at the Venice Festival and with Bernardino Molinari at the Augusteo in Rome, subsequently in Boston, Minneapolis, Washington, Chicago, and Budapest. Another typical trait of Malipiero was his idiosyncrasy for virtuousistic composition as was expressed in musical Romanticism («naturally musical rhetoric and virtuosity were shunned like a plague.»). There was a 30-year gap between the Concertos for Violin no. 1 and no. 2, composed in 1963, and presented for the very first time at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, on 14th September 1965. As in the previous concerto, Malipiero opts for the tripartite form with cadenza in the final movement. A graet work of a remarkable melodic expansiveness.

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) was, for the Italian composers of the so-called Generation of the 80s, above all for Alfredo Casella (1883-1947) and G. F. Malipiero (1882-1973), a paragon in the releasing of Italy from the predominant melodramatic tradition and in the opening to the currents and forms of German and European symphonism.

The Concerto by Ferruccio Busoni for Violin in D major op. 35a (first performance, Berlin, 8th October 1897), is considered a transitional work in Busoni’s repertoire, in perfect balance between a “mild modernity” and a warm late Romantic cantabile style. This explains the popularity that the Busonian Concerto acclaimed from soloists such as Fritz Kreisler, Adolph Busch, Arrigo Serato, Joseph Szigeti and of which it still benefits today. Busoni dedicated it to the violinist Henri Petri, the Konzertmeister of the Ducal Chapel in Dresden, who was formerly a pupil of Joseph Joachim. In this Concerto, Busoni took inspiration from the great paragons of the violin concertos composed by Brahms and Beethoven, opting for an “infinite circular arch through three seamless movements, individually shaped by the mutation of the thematic material initially performed by the orchestra [Allegro moderato] and then almost re-invented, step-by-step, by the brilliant improvisations carried out by the soloist”.

ABOUT DOMENICO NORDIO

The Venetian Domenico Nordio is considered one of the most prestigious Italian violinists of his generation. An eclectic musician, with a vast repertoire, he has performed in all the major theaters of the world and with the most famous orchestras. Nordio is known for his version of the Romantic and Twentieth century repertoire, in particular the Italian composers of which is considered the interpreter of reference. Over the last years, he has dedicated himself to the rediscovery of works by Respighi, Dallapiccola, Casella, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Malipiero, Ghedini and Petrassi.