Degree Name
Master of Music
Graduate Program
Music
Advisor
William Cernota
Abstract
AN ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER OF Paolo Chiavaroli, for the Master of Music degree in Performance, presented on April 5, 2024 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
TITLE: THE CELLO REPERTOIRE OVER FOUR ERAS
MAJOR PROFESSOR: Professor William Cernota
This Research Paper represents an extended version of the program notes of my Graduate Recital. It will be divided in two parts with a short intermission between them and it will “ring” on two main notes: D and C (Schubert’s sonata is in A minor, which is the relative minor of C) . It will also feature one composition from every main Western Classical Music Era: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern. This characteristic gave the name to my paper. Here is the complete program of the Recital, on which my paper is based: ● Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Suite for cello Solo in D Major, BWV 1012, I.Prelude, IV. Sarabande, VII. Gigue ● Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Cello Concerto in D Major, Hob.VII b:2 Intermission ● Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione”, D 821 ● Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), String Quartet No.8, Op.110, I.Largo, II.Allegro molto The goal of this Paper is to underline the evolution of the compositions composed for the cello in four completely different historical periods. The first half features two masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries: Bach’s 6th i Cello Suite in D major and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D. Both Bach and Haydn are considered two of the most influential composers in the long story of the Cello Repertoire. Bach was the first one to make the cello a soloistic instrument, composing for us a collection of six unforgettable Suites. Each one of them is considered a masterpiece. They are often arranged and transposed for other instruments, such as: viola, double bass, horn and even clarinet. This is mainly due to the universal nature of Bach’s compositions. While Bach developed the repertoire for cello solo, the first composer to establish this instrument as a soloist with an orchestra behind was Franz Joseph Haydn. If his first Cello Concerto is probably considered as the most “Classical” of the two, the Cello Concerto No.2 in D Major includes certain elements typical of the late Haydn. Elements that foreshadow his very early Romantic soul that in those years was becoming more and more prominent. The second part of the concert includes two pieces that revolve around C: Schubert’s “Arpeggione” sonata in A minor (relative minor of C) and Shostakovich String Quartet No.8 in C Minor. Unlike the first two composers of the recital, Schubert and Shostakovich had a tragic and sad story. Schubert died at the young of 31, always tormented by the heritage of Beethoven. During his lifetime he was never fully recognized for the genius he was. His “Arpeggione” Sonata was something completely new and interesting in the early Romantic era. No one before him thought that this complex and strange instrument would be able to produce those lovely melodies. Shostakovich had a longer life, but constantly lived in fear due to the heavy and strict rules that the Soviet Union (especially during the Stalin period) established for every form of art. The typical tragic, ironic and grotesque music of the Russian composer is evident in this String ii Quartet, one of the milestones in the chamber music repertoire of the 20th Century. Even though this is not a composition for cello solo or cello and piano, evident here is the important role given by Shostakovich to the cello as well as the clear references to the cello repertoire composed by the Russian composer (the main theme of the 4th movement is based on the same notes of the opening of his Cello Concerto No.1). In conclusion, four pieces that developed in four different ways the repertoire for cello (solo and not) and deeply enriched it. The recital will take place in Old Baptist Foundation, Carbondale, Illinois on April 26th, 2024 at 4 PM.