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REVIEW

Schumann’s Cello Concerto, arranged for violin and string orchestra

Anthony Marwood’s wonderfully articulate performance of Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto, arranged for violin and string orchestra by Orlando Jopling, was another highlight of the evening, conveying the emotional intensity and inherent Romanticism of the work.

The intimacy of Schumann’s writing for voice and piano and his understanding of the integral relationship between solo voice (human or instrumental) and accompaniment can equally be felt in the orchestration of this concerto. Dialogue between solo violin and string orchestra is peppered with intricacy, with the instrumentation not just providing echoes of the solo voice but essential to the musical texture and clarity of expression within the whole work.

Performed as three continuous movements, the span of the piece opening with a lyrical central thematic statement by the solo violin progressively expands during the sweeping exposition, combining the full symphonic volume of the ensemble with a more delicate sensibility explored in the intimate grouping of instruments, such as solo violin underpinned by viola and cello. There is audible recognition that the breadth of Schumann’s writing, both chamber and symphonic, is brought to bear in this late and historically neglected work. Schumann’s Cello Concerto arranged for violin was gloriously showcased by soloist and ensemble in this latest performance, part of a series of UK premieres of Jopling’s arrangement for the current tour.

© Georgina Coburn, 2011