Four solid talents, 2018

Four solid talents, 2018

February 12, 2018.  Four solid talents.  Three early-music composers were born this week: Francesco Cavalli, one of the pioneers of opera, on February 14th of 1602; Michael Praetorius, an immensely prolific German composer of the Protestant church music, most likely on February 15th of 1571; and Arcangelo Corelli,  on February 17th of 1653.  It so happens that we wrote about all three of them last year.  Four lesser composer were also born this week -- Fernando Sor, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Georges Auric and Henri  Vieuxtemps.  Fernando Sor, a Catalan guitarist and composer, was born on February 13th of 1778 in Barcelona.  He moved around Europe quite a bit, first living in Paris, then in London, and then moving to Moscow, where he stayed for four years.  He returned to Paris and lived there for the rest of his life (he died in 1839).  Sor was considered the foremost guitar virtuoso of his time; even though he wrote music in many genres, he is known today for his guitar compositions.  Here’s one of his most popular pieces, Variations on a Theme by Mozart.  It’s performed by the Spanish guitarist Rafael Serrallet.

Alexander Dargomyzhsky, born on February 14th of 1813, was an interesting Russian composer who lived in the period between Mikhail Glinka and the generation of the Mighty Five.  Dargomyzhsky met Glinka at the age of 22; they became Alexander Dargomyzhskyfriends, played piano four hands and studied scores together.  Encouraged by Glinka, he wrote an opera, Esmeralda, which had to wait its premier for eight years and then disappeared from the stage.  Disappointed, Dargomyzhsky went to Europe – Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Vienna – where he met many major composers and musicians.  After two years of travels he returned to Russia to start working on the opera Rusalka.  That one also had to wait – it was premiered only in 1856.  His best-known opera, The Stone Guest, was left unfinished; it was completed by César Cui and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.  Dargomyzhsky wrote a number of lovely songs; here’s one of them, Molitva (The prayer) and here’s another, V tverdi nebesnoy (In heavenly firmament).  Both are sung by the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, accompanied on the piano by her famous husband, the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.  The recording was made in 1991 when Vishnevskaya was 65 and beyond her prime.  Even if her voice isn’t as solid as it was at her prime, the phrasing is beautiful. 

Two Francophone composers were also born this week, Henri Vieuxtemps and Georges Auric:  Vieuxtemp, a Belgian, on February 17th of 1820 and Auric, a Frenchman, on February 15th of 1899.  Vieuxtemp was one of the best violinists of his time; Robert Schumann, who met him when 13-year-old Vieuxtemp toured Germany, compared him to Paganini (Paganini himself was impressed with the young virtuoso).  Vieuxtemp spent five years in Russia at the court of Nicolas I and practically laid the foundation of the Russian school of violin playing.  He composed seven violin concertos; here is the first movement, Allegro non troppo. of his concerto no. 5.  In this 1961 recording, Jascha Heifetz is playing with the New Symphony Orchestra of London, Malcom Sargent conducting.

Georges Auricwas one of the Les Six.  He was born in Lodève, in the south of France.  He collaborated with Jean Cocteau for many years, writing music to Cocteau’s ballet librettos and films.   Here’s his fun Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, performed by the Arundo-Donax Ensemble.