MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.5, FIRST MOVEMENT

Violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky uncovers a wealth of brilliant concepts in this masterpiece and demonstrates how an awareness of the whole is what brings a performance to life

From Mozart Violin Concerto in A, K.219. Urtext edition with marked and unmarked string parts. Ed. WolfDieter Seiffert, Piano reduction Siefried Petrenz, Vln fingering, bowing & cadenzas Kurt Gunter. Order no. HN 679. ISMN 979-0- 2018-0679-2. €21.50. Printed with permission of G. Henle Verlag, München © 2000.

It is quite extraordinary to me how, in the space of only two years, the teenage Mozart developed from writing his first violin concerto, K207, to becoming a total master of the form. This piece belongs to the great canon of violin concertos and is in no way lesser than those by Beethoven or Mendelssohn. Everything about the piece speaks of his desire to push boundaries: the range and agility required of the soloist and particularly the orchestral horn players, the constant invention in how he treats thematic material, and the innovation in the structure of the first movement.

Drama and innovation

To let the orchestra précis the exposition and interrupt that, as it were, with an Adagio is really unusual for a concerto. The Adagio completely alters the mood and it stands on its own in the movement as the material is not prepared beforehand or returned to afterwards, which makes the first solo entry one of the hardest things to start. It has to be theatrical, and I like to imagine an emperor walking in, having perhaps arrived fashionably late, just after the overture.

After a vigorous opening Allegro the orchestra has to change gears immediately and start playing incredibly controlled, never-ending legatissimo phrases. The pulse, the rhythm and the atmosphere are completely altered, just like a scene change in an opera. For the solo part, there is a lot to consider with just the first three notes and the soloist has to have superb bow control to manage this. Firstly, controlling the speed of the bow in order not to have any accents at bow changes allows them to hold the illusion of two up-beats without over-emphasising the third beat of the bar. Secondly, fine control over string changes is essential to join the seamless flow of the orchestral accompaniment.

Contextual awareness

The Adagio is like a slow movement, very much like an aria. Everything about the solo line is singing, and accordingly the grace notes should not be too fast. It’s a fantastic contrast to the first Allegro theme whose openness – indicated by the word aperto – and whose youthful confidence is accentuated by the grace notes. An awareness of early Classical practice is important here so that these appoggiaturas bear some relation to places like bars 55–57 where they are written into the rhythm more formally.

In the first theme of the Allegro it is, as always, crucial to be aware of the orchestral lines because from bar 46 the soloist and orchestra act like a kaleidoscope: as one follows their exuberant high entry with a shower of descending scales the other is building steadily upwards. The top of the orchestral line in bar 50, for example, is naturally going to dominate and it makes sense for the soloist not to push to be heard at that point. So we have to look at the whole picture. Practising the solo part without knowledge of the whole score is like looking through a keyhole to figure out what’s going on in a room: you only have a very partial view.

Taking risks

From bar 62 the solo line takes up an idea where the violin is left hanging in the air by the orchestra before the Adagio. Although these flourishes have a certain poise with their measured semiquavers (s), the last one in bar 66 should fly up to the top A. If you have good reach with your fourth finger, then I think it’s preferable to risk playing it on one string rather than the safe option over two strings. Far more of a challenge are the descending figures in bar 71. It’s one of the most difficult places in the repertoire to play in tune and one that justifies endless repetition so that muscle memory can take over in a performance. Again, playing it over two strings is safer, but I prefer to stay on the E string to maintain the brilliance of the timbre.

Vibrato

Even if we were to disregard the part of Leopold Mozart’s treatise on vibrato, the idea of performing this piece completely without vibrato would be anathema to anyone but the most rigorous purist. The question is a much more subtle one than whether something should be senza vibrato or con vibrato (because life is not like that). Much more important is whether you are hearing the overtones in your playing and making sure that the vibrato does not destroy them but adds to them and warms the sound.

Many parts within a whole and embracing variety

The more you know the score, the more colours you will have in your playing and will be able to respond to the harmony, the bass-lines and different instrumental lines. For example, in the interplay between bass instruments, solo violin and tutti violins in bars 62–69, Mozart seems to use the lower instruments in a deliberately comical way. In a similar way, the clearly paired semiquavers in the passage from bar 74 is a direct response to what the orchestra set up in bar 72. To appreciate this invention and humour, and be able to respond and play your part fully you must know the score. The greatness of actors is in how they react to their counterparts and the same goes for all performers. Actors learn their lines like we learn our notes, but that is just the beginning.

In bar 81, once the music has settled in E major we enjoy the genial theme from the introduction. But then Mozart does something unexpected and lets the soloist repeat the theme in its middle register while the oboe doubles an octave higher and the orchestral violins play a counter-melody on top. It’s ingenious, and very advanced for his time. Lest we get carried away, the second violins are like the engine room under all of this, gently maintaining the momentum with their semiquavers. In itself the theme sounds nice, almost silly, but together with everything else the effect is dazzling – it’s pure theatre!

Speed and intensity of mood changes

Coming out of this, the soloist’s bright figure in bar 89 is particularly arresting and is brought further into relief by the lightning-quick dynamic contrasts every half-bar. It is the speed at which the moods change that makes Mozart’s music so challenging to perform. At this place and throughout the movement there is hardly any time to adjust and therefore a huge amount of control and preparation is required.

The development from bar 118 is where he produces some of the most heartfelt music of the movement. Either side of the orchestra’s Turkish march interjection in bars 125–126, the solo line couldn’t be more different – it’s so dreamy and poetic. Then in bar 133, the orchestra’s unusual syncopations nudge us into a more lively mood and from bar 135, where the orchestra is more static, it is up to the soloist to bring interest. I would suggest pristine spiccato articulation for bars 135 and 136 and a commanding détaché stroke for the following two bars, to prepare the orchestral forte in bar 139. Whether you maintain the strong dynamic after taking over from the orchestra in bar 142 or diminuendo through the duet with the first violins, the recapitulation in bar 144 will be joyous and strong.

Role of the interpreter

In this music, if you are clear about what you are trying to express, then the themes will come out vibrantly contrasting from each other. Being sensitive with articulation, dynamics, timbre and tone all contribute and of course the more one knows about the orchestral part, the more colourful and interesting one’s performance will be.

As a mentor I am often prompted to ask how it is that we live in the information age and yet can be so remarkably uninformed. There is so much available to us at the touch of a button but we need to cultivate curiosity perhaps more than ever before. Get to know how the composers thought, the circumstances around the creation of a particular piece, or simply just read the music – it’s good company! When we unlock the secrets of the music in this way, we start to play in colour rather than black and white because we build a wealth of knowledge and fresh understanding.

INTERVIEW BY HELENA RUINARD