Con brio
Concert overture by Jörg Widmann
The composer in 2006
PeriodContemporary
Composed2008
Published2008 (2008): Mainz
PublisherSchott Music
Recorded25 September 2008 (2008-09-25)
Duration12:00[1]
Premiere
Date25 September 2008 (2008-09-25)
LocationGasteig, Munich
ConductorMariss Jansons
PerformersBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Con brio is a concert overture by Jörg Widmann influenced by Beethoven. It is a commission by the Bayerischer Rundfunk.

History

Mariss Jansons said that the new piece should be performed along with a pure Beethoven program.[2] The overture was composed in 2008.[1] It was written in a "mad hurry".[3]

Music

Widmann refers to musical characteristics of Beethoven’s 7th and 8th Symphonies.[1][4] There are no exact quotations from the symphonies, but he has chosen the same instrumentation.[5][3] According to Widmann, it is an exercise in fury and rhythmic insistence.[1] In a very small space, a sonata form is presented before the recurring material is arranged into a scherzo.[6] The overture is run through with Beethovenian riffs, flourishes and humor and is like a deconstruction of Beethoven.[5] The piece, full of extended techniques,[3] has a cut-and-paste structure.[5] The timpani are in the focus from the beginning of the overture.

\relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \tempo "Più mosso sub." 4 = 152 \key c \major \time 4/4 \tuplet 3/2 { a8->-. a-. a-. } \tuplet 3/2 { c8( a) a-. } r2 }
Motif I
\relative c'' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \tempo 4 = 152 \key c \major \time 2/4 r4 \tuplet 3/2 { c8( d es) } \tuplet 3/2 { e8( d cis) } b4-- }
Motif II

The metronome markings are deliberately selected at a fast speed.[1] The score contains six dense pages of written instructions.[3]

Instrumentation

The concert overture is scored for 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B, timpani, and strings.[1]

Performances

Con brio was premiered by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons on 25 September 2008 in Munich, Gasteig, Philharmonie.[1]

Recordings

Reception

Anthony Tommasini from The New York Times wrote: "effective as a warm-up".[5] David Allen from The New York Times wrote: "One of the most performed orchestral works written this century".[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Con brio". Schott Music. Mainz. 2008. ISMN 979-0-001-18691-9. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ Kaiser, Sybille (16 November 2015). "Ein Gespräch mit Jörg Widmann über sein Orchesterwerk "Con brio"". br-klassik.de (in German). Munich. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Allen, David (20 March 2020). "A Composer Finds the Old in the New". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  4. ^ Badelt, Udo (29 June 2016). "Beethoven und sein Klangschatten". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Tommasini, Anthony (14 January 2011). "Beethoven's Varied Descendants". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. ^ Besthorn, Florian Henri (2019). "Jörg Widmann". KDG Online. Komponisten der Gegenwart.
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