Cellist Amanda Forsyth plays a rare Italian cello made in 1699 by Carlo Giuseppe Testore. We can hear this Cello in the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman handles the violin part…
The Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello, Op. 102 is the last purely orchestral composition by Johannes Brahms; it was written in 1887, ten years before his death. Although the work remains the least played of Brahms’ four concertos, it is, through its prodigious power, its signature melodies and its sublime phrasing, one of his greatest achievements.
Compositions for this combination of solo instruments are few and far between, but Brahms succeeded in integrating them into a concerto that showcases the tonal beauties of each.
In the Allegro movement, the soloists engage in a dialogue: with each other, individually with the orchestra, or as a group with the orchestra.
The Andante movement is filled with great lyricism and Brahms’ grandest melodies. In his biography of the composer, Walter Niemann describes this movement as “a great ballade, steeped in the rich and mysterious tone of a northern evening atmosphere.”
The final movement is a rondo whose main theme is Hungarian-inspired; and a brilliant coda takes the concerto to its conclusion in the glorious key of A major.
Here is the second movement from the Brahms Double Concerto as performed by Amanda Forsyth and Mr. Zukerman:
