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The cello was often neglected by the great composers of earlier centuries, overshadowed by concertos that focused on the more agile, high-flying violin.
Even the French composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, whose Cello Concerto No. 1 will be performed by the Utah Symphony and guest cellist Pieter Wispelwey next weekend, concentrated more on the piano. In addition, he wrote more concertos for the violin than the cello.
Yet Saint-Saëns' first cello concerto is arguably the greatest and liveliest showpiece for the instrument ever composed. In this adventurous piece, the instrument demonstrates its large range, deeper bass and dynamic projection that speaks more to the soul than its other cousins in the stringed family. (It's no accident that when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain wrote his final songs before his early death in 1994, he included the cello, as it was more able to express his melancholic longing for a peace he never found.)
"It's a wonderful concerto," said Kayson Brown, founder of Utah's Lyceum Music Festival and music director of the American Heritage School Lyceum Philharmonic, who has a degree in cello performance. "It's more joyful, more spontaneous. Enjoy the ride."
Wispelwey, an acclaimed Amsterdam-based cellist in his Utah Symphony debut, has been enlisted to tame and perform the often-rapid concerto that's so technically complex that many cellists are required to play it during auditions. In an interview from his home in the Netherlands, Wispelwey said it was his entrance exam when he entered a music conservatory.
Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor is an unorthodox concerto. Instead of being written in the traditional three movements, it's one long, continuous piece that requires incredible stamina from the performer. The cello is "declamatory," says guest conductor Hugh Wolff.
"It's a unique work," Wispelwey said of the concerto, first performed in 1873. "It's very creative. It's one long thought process, and a very interesting psychological piece. It's not overly flashy, but elegant. It's French in the sense that it has an interesting surface, but there's a lot of stuff going on."
The same descriptions can be used for Wispelwey, who grew up listening to his father's amateur string quartet rehearsing at his house. He recalls the sound of the cello, standing out among the violins and violas — such power, he says, such overwhelming warmth. "It grabs you," the musician said, "especially when you're 2."
Wispelwey's first recording for Channel Classics, in 1990, demanded — and received — attention. "The Bach Cello Suites" revealed Wispelwey's mastery of the instrument, while displaying how the tones of the cello could be every bit as lyrical as the violin.
As a result in 1992, he was the first cellist to receive the Netherlands Music Prize, awarded to the most promising young musician in the country. He has recorded and performed with most of the world's greatest orchestras since then; one highlight has been his tours with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, in which he performed the Schumann and Shostakovich cello concertos.
When he comes to Utah, Wispelwey will bring his favorite instrument, which he calls his "young stallion." It's a cello created in 1760 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, a brilliant craftsman of stringed instruments. (The cello is officially considered priceless, but pop-classical musician David Garrett purchased a Guadagnini violin in 2003 for $1 million.)
Under the right conditions he prefers to use gut strings, but this time he is planning to play on metal strings for the power. "You need to project well in order to communicate with the audience," he said.
Returning to conduct the Utah Symphony is Wolff, who enjoys an international reputation, in part, because of his advocacy of modern music. His challenge will be to make sure the orchestra "doesn't drown [Wispelwey] out," since a cello plays "lower than a violin and softer than a trombone." He always meets with soloists before concerts. "My job is to make his job easy," the conductor said, "and to communicate his idea [to the orchestra]."
Wolff had a simple reason for why the Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor has become one of the finest cello concertos ever written. "It can put you in a good mood," he said.
And for a cello, that's saying something.
Not a mellow cello
P Cellist Pieter Wispelwey joins the Utah Symphony and guest conductor Hugh Wolff in Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1. Also on the program are Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3 and Ives' Symphony No. 2.
When • Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3 and 4, at 8 p.m.
Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $15 to $50 ($5 more on concert day) at http://www.ArtTix.org or 801-355-7522