Description
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) composed his CELLO CONCERTO No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, for Belgian cellist, instrument maker, and friend Auguste Tolbecque in 1872, at the age of 37.
Premiered by Tolbecque, who was closely associated with the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, France’s leading concert society, at the Paris Conservatoire on January 19, 1873, this performance was perceived as a mark of Saint-Saëns’ growing acceptance by the French musical establishment. Many composers, including Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, consider this concerto to be the greatest written for cello, with the work solving the issue of balance by limiting the role of the orchestra more often to the background and to punctuating chords.
Rather than three seperate movements, the work is composed in three distinct sections with single musical ideas and themes running through the entire work, a decision likely inspired by conversations with Franz Liszt. Despite the tremendously demanding solo part, this remains a favorite of cellists and a regular work in the repertoire.
This edition has been edited by Clinton Nieweg and Nancy Bradburd, with the cello solo part edited by William Stokking. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Cello.
