Con brio (Widmann)
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| Con brio | |
|---|---|
| Concert overture by Jörg Widmann | |
 The composer in 2025 | |
| Period | Contemporary |
| Composed | 2008 |
| Published | 2008: Mainz |
| Publisher | Schott Music |
| Recorded | 25 September 2008 |
| Duration | 12:00[1] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 25 September 2008 |
| Location | Gasteig, Munich |
| Conductor | Mariss Jansons |
| Performers | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra |
Con brio is a concert overture by Jörg Widmann influenced by Beethoven. It is a commission by the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Mariss Jansons said that the new piece should be performed along with a pure Beethoven program.[2] The overture was composed in 2008.[1] It was written in a "mad hurry".[3]
Music
Widmann refers to musical characteristics of Beethoven’s 7th and 8th Symphonies.[1][4] There are no exact quotations from the symphonies, but he has chosen the same instrumentation.[5][3] According to Widmann, it is an exercise in fury and rhythmic insistence.[1] Fragmented motifs are fired between orchestra groups.[6]
- Motif I
- Motif II
In a very small space, a sonata form is presented before the recurring material is arranged into a scherzo.[7] The overture is run through with Beethovenian riffs, flourishes and humor and is like a deconstruction of Beethoven.[5] The piece, full of extended techniques,[3] has a cut-and-paste structure.[5] The timpani are in the focus from the beginning of the overture.
The metronome markings are deliberately selected at a fast speed.[1] The score contains six dense pages of written instructions.[3]
Instrumentation
The concert overture is scored for a Beethoven sized orchestra, with 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.[1]
Performances
Con brio was premiered by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons on 25 September 2008 in Munich, Gasteig, Philharmonie.[1]
Recordings
- Con brio (with Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 & 8), Mariss Jansons, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BR-Klassik 2015) OCLC 1017093816
