Lennox Berkeley - Introduction and Allegro for Solo Violin

Описание: James Woodrow - Violin
Home recording 03/07/2021

Lennox Berkeley’s music does not show an obvious placement in the previous lineage of the British compositional style, stemming from composers such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams. Upon graduating from Oxford University, an encounter in Oxford with Ravel, who was impressed with Berkeley’s early compositional efforts, led Ravel to suggest he study in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. Berkeley’s time in Paris, not only studying with Boulanger, but mixing with composers such as Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Milhaud, gives his music a distinctive French flavour which sets him apart from his British contemporaries.

After studies in Paris, a close friendship with Britten resulted in a joint collaborative orchestra work, Mont Juic. In the same year as composing the Introduction and Allegro, he took up the post of Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music between 1946-1968; his students included Richard Rodney Bennett, John Tavener and Brian Ferneyhough. His compositional output includes works in all major genres, with his colourful compositional style making him an intriguing figure in twentieth century British music.

Introduction and Allegro was dedicated to, and first performed by, Ivry Gitlis. Written in 1946, it had its premiere at the Wigmore Hall in 1947. The two musicians clearly worked closely on the piece, as Gitlis acted as editor, providing suggested bowings and fingerings in the published edition. The piece could be seen as providing a snapshot of Gitlis’ playing, as it was very likely written with his individual playing style in mind. The Introduction in particular has an improvisatory quality, which reflects Gitlis’ exploratory and fantasy-like approach to violin playing, which has made him one of the twentieth century’s most admired players.

The Introduction starts with a bold and strident opening, with a rhythmic motif on just the one note. This statement appears four more times in the Introduction. Around this motif is a meandering and exploratory chromatic melody. The Introduction explores many different violin colours, using all four strings in different tessituras. The Allegro has a lively and restless character. Despite only one section of double stops, the writing is extremely harmonically colourful, showing Berkeley’s craft of tonality within the parameters of a solo violin work. The idiomatic violin techniques including harmonics, left hand pizzicato and ricochet bowing, as well as the general musical character, result in a playful conclusion to an initially serious introduction.


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