Šulek, Stjepan: Concerto for violoncello and orchestra

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Music editor’s note

 

Šulek’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra introduces the middle period of the composer’s work. According to the date on the last page of the autograph (1949), we can place him into the interesting post war period which is starting to define Soc-Realist public frame on one hand, but on the other is bringing out different individual voices of artists within a modest silence of universities, academies and other cultural institutions.

In a manner compliant with Russian formalism (although not sharing the same ideological frame) Šulek writes a piece which is the scion of a classical concerto. Its characteristics are stylistic clarity, transparency of form and inventive usage of usual form patterns. Harmonic language occasionally moves on the rim of tonality, still not overpassing it. A lot of dissonant occasions tend to unravel in a logical way towards tonally more oriented structures. Interesting features of this concerto are definitely the unusual and inspired slow introduction into the first movement and distinctive use of passacaglia form in the final movement.

The score was written by a firm hand and in a very detailed way, nevertheless Šulek changes the instrumentation of wind ensemble in several places in the first movement. I have taken these changes into account and included them into this edition.

 

Mladen Tarbuk

Cantus d.o.o., 2014.

Edition No: Can. 112-3568

ISMN 979-0-801333-56-8