A Cello Concerto Marathon

Synopsis

26 miles 385 yards is the length you’ll need to run to complete a Marathon.

Well, the Russian cellist Mstsilav Rostropovich did something even more daunting in 1967, when in the space of two weeks he performed 26 works for cello and orchestra at 8 concerts with the London Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York City -- including some world premieres!

Oh, and just to make it easier, he performed everything from memory.

We should also mention, I suppose, that, during those weeks in New York, Rostropovich was asked to leave his hotel because other guests there complained about his practicing all night!

On today’s date in 1967, New England composer Walter Piston’s “Variations for Cello and Orchestra” was one of the new works premiered during Rostropovich’s concerto marathon.

After appearing with the Boston Symphony the previous year, Rostropovich had asked Piston to write something for him, suggesting only, "Please don't write for the player--write for the instrument." Piston took that to mean Rostropovich didn’t want flash, but substance.

After receiving the score, Rostropovich was astonished to learn that Piston himself did not play the cello, so idiomatically had the composer written for the instrument.

For his part, Piston considered the new work for Rostropovich among the best he ever wrote. "I put everything I had into that piece,” he said. “It takes a lifetime of knowledge to write for a man like that."

Music Played in Today's Program

Walter Piston (1894 – 1976) Variations for Cello and Orchestra Mstislav Rostropovich, vcl; London Symphony Orchestra; Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, cond. Intaglio 7581 or Doremi DHR7974-9 (r. live 1967)

On This Day

Births

• 1824 - Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana, in Leitomischl;

• 1900 - German-born American composer Kurt Weill, in Dessau;

• 1905 - American composer Marc Blitzstein, in Philadelphia;

• 1917 - British composer John Gardner, in Manchester;

• 1921 - British composer Robert Simpson, in Leamington;

Deaths

• 1959 - Finnish composer Yrjö (Henrik) Kilpinen, age 97, in Helsinki; He was the most famous Finnish composer of art songs (lieder);

• 2003 - Italian composer Goffredo Petrassi, age 98, in Rome;

• 2003 - Australian composer Malcolm Williamson, age 71, in Cambridge, England; In 1975 he became the first non-British born composer to serve as the Queen's Master of Music;

Premieres

• 1724 - Handel: opera "Giulio Cesare" in London (Julian date: Feb. 20);

• 1744 - Handel: oratorio "Joseph and his Brethren" in London at the Covent Garden Theater (Gregorian date: March 13);

• 1792 - Haydn: Symphony No. 98, conducted by the composer, at the Hanover-Square Concert Rooms in London;

• 1795 - Haydn: Symphony No. 103 ("The Drumroll"), conducted by the composer, at the King's Theater in London;

• 1874 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 3, in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting; This was a benefit concert for the victims of the Volga famine, and marked Rimsky-Korsakov's debut as a conductor (Julian date: Feb. 18);

• 1887 - R. Strauss: "Aus Italien" (From Italy), in Munich;

• 1911 - Scriabin: Symphony No. 5 ("Prometheus: Poem of Fire"), in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 15);

• 1961 - Copland: Nonet for Strings, at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., by members of the National Symphony conducted by the composer;

• 1977 - Benjamin Lees: "Dialogue" for cello and piano, in New York City.