Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Alexander Ivashkin cello
Lisa Milne soprano
Ruxandra Donose mezzo soprano
Andrew Kennedy tenor
Christopher Maltman baritone
London Philharmonic Choir

Schnittke Cello Concerto 2
Haydn The Seven Last Words



The striking aural landscape of Schnittke’s Second Cello Concerto feels at once crammed but clear; frantic but calm. To a piece that pretty much defies description the composer himself attached the word Klangwelt – ‘a world of sound’. His epic creation certainly seems to contain the world: the sardonic oom-pah-pah of Berg-like marches; the ghostly Messiaenic float of the electronic Ondes Martenot; the homely modal twist of Brittenesque recitatives; the Mahlerian surge and churn of a huge Romantic symphony – all the while the ‘extreme-lyricism’ of the cello’s solo creating a compelling foreground narrative. Cradled in Schnittke’s Klangwelt is truly a concerto like no other, but he ended his piece with an ethereal musical prayer, a hymn of thanks, whose inspiration perhaps his beloved Joseph Haydn might have understood.

Haydn’s The Seven Last Words, or more accurately translated, Seven Last Phrases, forms the second half of the concert. The originally commissioned piece was for full orchestra, first played during the Good Friday service in 1787 where each movement appeared as a descriptive orchestral interlude between readings and discourses on the ‘Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross’. One of his most original and varied works, it combines appropriate illustration with expressions of his own reaction to the crucifixion, where drama becomes human and agony brings hope. Eight years later, Haydn added choral parts to the music with minimal revisions to the sumptuous orchestral score, creating a grand and dignified work – but one that never intimidates the listener. The music’s outstanding, expressive yet personal qualities seem to reflect Haydn’s own unaffected beliefs and personality, which he retained despite his great success and renown.

The choral version of The Seven Last Words directly precedes Haydn’s most famous oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons, which were written within the next six years.

To hear selected movements from this concert, select a track below to open the music file. (Windows Media Player required.)
Schnittke: Cello Concerto 2 - I. Moderato
Schnittke: Cello Concerto 2 - II. Allegro
Schnittke: Cello Concerto 2 - III. Lento
Haydn: The Seven Last Words - Introduction
Haydn: The Seven Last Words - No. 1. Father, forgive them

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