Fritz Kauffmann's Cello Concerto Op. 29

[eschiss1]

Thank you
As to his violin concerti, FLP seems to have both of them if one can finagle access - the 2nd from 1907, premiered 1908, published 1909; 1st from 1892 (mistagged by Fleisher as a cello concerto - I think? maybe there's a reason they did that?), premiered 1893, published 1894. Both apparently premiered by Felix Berber?
As to all 3 (or 4, counting the piano concerto?), looking at you, Toccata Classics?

[Mark Thomas]

The Cello Concerto really is a fine work overall, and you've made such a great job of it, Tuomas. It's probably just me, but I do find that the light-hearted Tarantella finale jars just a bit after the imposing first two movements, and especially that heartfelt slow movement. It's just a bit too jolly, somehow, but I guess that the contrast just underlines the splendid gravitas of the other two. No doubt I'll learn to love it.

[tpaloj]

It's probably just me, but I do find that the light-hearted Tarantella finale jars just a bit after the imposing first two movements, and especially that heartfelt slow movement. It's just a bit too jolly, somehow, but I guess that the contrast just underlines the splendid gravitas of the other two.

It's a fair assessment, Mark, and I can agree with you for the most part. The contrast is large and especially with the cello's high register used predominantly in the finale the contrast can be striking compared to the previous movements where a more broader register has been showcased. While transcribing the work, I couldn't help but think: what if this Tarantella was something the composer had initially intended for a violin concerto? Indeed, tarantella-style music might be better suited for a violin's range and velocity rather than a cello, generally speaking. I would be really curious to hear how real musicians interpret and solve this issue of contrast in a live or recorded rendering of the work.

Then again, a Tarantella movement seems to be a novel idea for a cello concerto. I'm not that well-acquainted on the genre, but are there any others that have something similar?

By the way, I decided to have the finale in the video slightly slower than the marked tempo in the score (down to 80 dotted half-note from 84 dotted half-note). For the record also, I transcribed the music with the assumption that the false treble clef phenomenon was not present in this score. I'd be happy to be proven otherwise, since I'm no cellist myself.

[Ilja]

We have a few piano concertos with more, let's say, whimsical final movements. I'm particularly thinking of the Von Sauer E minor and the Napoleão E flat, and I've probably missed a few. First time I've seen it in a cello concerto, though. While I found it quite jarring in the Von Sauer I personally don't mind it here.

[Alan Howe]

I think we're discovering just how inventive Kauffmann was. He's certainly no clone; he was making his own synthesis of conservative and progressive stylistic elements.