tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post3572361344518424871..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Concerto Guide: Vivaldi Concerto for Four ViolinsBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-42120140314990402014-10-30T10:31:12.890-05:002014-10-30T10:31:12.890-05:00Good points. Maybe in the case of a non-establishe...Good points. Maybe in the case of a non-established composer it would be better to let a orchestra member play the solo part and actually get a performance of the piece somewhat easier.Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-56034343497902343892014-10-30T08:34:31.456-05:002014-10-30T08:34:31.456-05:00While orchestral players, particularly principal o...While orchestral players, particularly principal ones, are often up to the demands of a concerto, this is not the usual practice. The outside soloist is hired instead for a number of reasons. A soloist like Hilary Hahn is going to bring to a piece like the Beethoven violin concerto a depth of technical command and profundity of expression that she has spent her life honing. The concert master of the orchestra--any orchestra--is not going to have the same quality because he or she does not play concertos as a primary activity and probably does not play at the same level (who does?). The other reason is that orchestras hire famous soloists in order to sell more tickets.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-38653874233855281192014-10-30T08:18:45.824-05:002014-10-30T08:18:45.824-05:00Although, I suppose one of the reason is that solo...Although, I suppose one of the reason is that soloists are more familiar with the soloist lines as they probably played as soloist in a piece several times. Thus it saves time to pick someone who has experience with the soloist part.Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-75425081999904060182014-10-30T08:14:07.220-05:002014-10-30T08:14:07.220-05:00Good points. One thing I've noticed a while ag...Good points. One thing I've noticed a while ago: Orchestras tend to hire soloists from outside despite probably having plenty of great players who could probably do soloist job, this is especially true for the string section (considering the huge amount of players in that section). I wonder why they do that.Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-73496591699987690142014-10-29T18:16:43.647-05:002014-10-29T18:16:43.647-05:00Oh yes, I'm sure that there are practical cons...Oh yes, I'm sure that there are practical considerations as well. Here are some:<br /><br />--composers often wrote concertos as vehicles for themselves: the Mozart piano and violin concertos, the Beethoven piano concertos<br />--the economics of the business militate against multiple soloists. Most orchestras will hire only one soloist for a concert<br />--there are few groups of soloists who are ready to perform pieces like the Brahms double concerto, which would require a lot of extra rehearsal time<br />--concertos are commissioned by single soloists for their own use<br />Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-71365271313255477762014-10-29T13:28:00.388-05:002014-10-29T13:28:00.388-05:00Interesting. I was thinking maybe there was some m...Interesting. I was thinking maybe there was some more practical explanation such as that it's harder to write for more than one solo instrument or that it's harder to get more than one soloist to perform. But whether it's harder or not to write a concerto grosso depends on the circumstances I suppose. The issue of finding more than one soloist is probably troublesome for a non-famous (as in not Philip Glass famous) composer nowadays though. Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-9442282565587619492014-10-29T06:55:15.487-05:002014-10-29T06:55:15.487-05:00There could be a lot of reasons for that, but one ...There could be a lot of reasons for that, but one that appeals to me is kind of sociological. The concerto grosso was popular at a time when the structure of society was aristocratic. In most places there was a king, nobility and the common people. The concerto grosso reflects the relationship between the common people and the aristocracy: the many and the few (ignoring the role of the king who did not loom large in most people's lives). The solo instrument versus the orchestra was more a metaphor for the individual and society at large. It suited well the Romantic cult of the individual, pitted against circumstance and society. But there is a connection as well, as society itself is nothing but a collection of individuals, just as the orchestra is made up of individual instruments. In any case, the listener, in the solo concerto, identifies with the triumph of the soloist, just as it was the common man that was freed in the democratic revolutions of the late 18th century.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-18443043364128026982014-10-29T02:30:29.978-05:002014-10-29T02:30:29.978-05:00I always liked the idea of Concerto Grosso more th...I always liked the idea of Concerto Grosso more than concertos for one solo instrument. I think there are great combinations to be explored. Why do you think concertos for one solo instrument became much more popular as time went one?Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.com