MELIA WATRAS: CADENZAS TO BEETHOVEN’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 61 (2020)
World Premiere: coming soon
Duration: coming soon
Program Notes:
When Rachel Lee Priday, my remarkable colleague at the University of Washington, asked me if I would compose cadenzas for her to the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Op. 61, I excitedly accepted. As I set about writing, some concepts immediately came to the forefront: the purpose of a cadenza, what materials to draw upon or not, form and function.
In violinist Gidon Kremer’s extended essay, Searching for Ludwig, the author writes, “The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced of my view of the cadenza as a ‘frame,’ a bridge built between the time when the original piece was written and the date of its performance.” This rang true with my artistic vision for this project.
Though Beethoven did not write cadenzas for the violin concerto, he did include them in the piano version of the work, Op. 61a. I have heard and read references to his first movement cadenza as a “piece within a piece.” This set me upon a path to create cadenzas for each of the movements in the concerto that when extracted, become a separate, stand alone work. This “extraction” became my composition, Echo for violin solo.
To honor Franz Clement, the great violinist who premiered, and for whom Beethoven wrote the violin concerto, I gravitated towards the gentle perspective, as his sound was known to be delicate.
These cadenzas and Echo are dedicated with thanks and friendship to Rachel Lee Priday.
—Melia Watras