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Camille Saint-Saëns

Cello Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns)

Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 119, is written in two movements, like his Fourth Piano Concerto. It was composed in 1902 and is dedicated to the Dutch cellist, Joseph Hollman, who

Music#

The two movements are: The first part of the first movement is in ternary form. The second part is a prayer, in E major, also in ternary form. The first movement ends with a scale in artificial harmonics, like the scale in the First Cello Concerto. The second movement is a moto perpetuo in G minor. It ends abruptly in a cadenza, followed by a major-key recapitulation of the first movement, and a coda. Along with the solo cello, the concerto is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

Recordings#

  • Lynn Harrell (Cello) and Riccardo Chailly (Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin). CD Decca 1986
  • Steven Isserlis (Cello) and Michael Tilson Thomas (London Symphony Orchestra). CD RCA Victor 1993
  • Maria Kliegel (Cello) and Jean-François Monnard (Bournemouth Sinfonietta). CD Naxos 1995
  • Torleif Thedéen (Cello) and Jean-Jacques Kantorow (Tapiola Sinfonietta). CD Bis Records 1998
  • Steven Isserlis (Cello) and Christoph Eschenbach (NDR-Sinfonieorchester). CD RCA Victor 1999
  • Jeremy Findlay (Cello) and Jose Maria Florencio Junior (Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra). CD DUX 2003
  • Zuill Bailey (Cello) and David Wiley (Roanoke Symphony Orchestra) & Cello Concerto n°1. CD Delos International 2005
  • Jamie Walton (Cello) and Alex Briger (Philharmonia Orchestra), (with cello concerto n°1). CD Quartz 2006
  • Johannes Moser (Cello) and Fabrice Bollon (Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR). CD Hänssler Classic 2008
  • Piovano Luigi (Cello) and Orchestra del Teatro Marrucino, conducted by Piero Bellugi, (Integral Cello Work)). 2 CD Eloquens 2011
  • Laszlo Varga (Cello) and Reinhard Peters (Westphalian Symphony Orchestra). 2 CD Vox 2014
  • Christine Walevska (Cello) and Eliahu Inbal (Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo), (complete works for Cello and Orchestra). Recorded 11/1973. LP Philips 1974. CD Decca Eloquence 2016
  • Truls Mørk (Cello) and Neeme Järvi (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) (with Concerto n°1). CD Chandos 2016
Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns