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Finzi, Bunting, and the Final Cello Concerto
Discography:
Bach, J.S.: Cello Suite No. 6. Performed by Christopher Bunting Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prelude - YouTube
Finzi, Bernard: Farewell to Arms (0p.9) Performed by the City of London Sinfonietta and Martin Hill (tenor)Gerald Finzi, ‘Farewell to arms’ - YouTube
Finzi, Bernard: Cello Concerto. Performed by Tim Hugh (cello) with the Northern Sinfonia conducted by Howard Griffiths. Finzi Cello concerto - YouTube
Part 1: The Eccentric Cellist - Christopher Bunting
An odd bit of advice:
“One of the most stultifying and ubiquitous aspects of ‘stuckness’ at an early infantile state is perfectionism. Consider a simple machine that controls its own behaviour by sensing the relevant portion of reality and by feeding back the resultant information to the controlling function. Consider, for instance, the household thermostat controlling a central-heating system.
Mr. Smith, Mr. N. Riche and Mr. I.D.K=L. Plato would all like to maintain a termperature of 65 degrees in their houses. Mr. Smith buys a thermostat that switches the system on at 60 degrees and off at 70 degrees and is very happy with it. His house stays at more-or-less 65 degrees. Mr. N. Riche would like something a little more sophisticated, a little more ‘accurate,’ a little more demonstrably expensive! He buys one that switches the system on at 64.99 degrees F and off at 65.01 degrees F. Unfortunately on stormy nights it emulates James Thurber’s nervous card-table that switched capriciously into and out of its alternative mode as an ironing board — a case of mechanical identity crisis! Well, we are still, just, within the confines of sanity, but along comes Mr. I.D.L. Plato who will hear nothing of ‘limits’ or tolerances’ and is thus forced by inexorable logic to construct for himself a system that switches itself on at 65 degrees F and also off at the same temperature! On means off, do means don’t, yes means no, play means don’t play.
Bertrand Russell said: “All science is dominated by the notion of approximation” - as well he might!
When last seen Mr. I.D.L. Plato was being carted off to a sanatorium in the shape of a perfect dodecahedron. Alas it has no lavatory.” - Cristopher Bunting, An Essay on the Craft of ‘Cello Playing.
Bach, J.S.: Cello Suite No. 6. Performed by Christopher Bunting Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prelude - YouTube
The War Torn Composer - Gerald Finzi
“In 1951, however, Finzi learned that he was suffering from Hodgkin’s Disease, a form of leukaemia, and was told he had between five and ten years to live. The discovery in no way lessened his activities, particularly those undertaken for other composers.
He had championed Ivor Gurney in the 1930s and those efforts continued. He also worked on the music of Hubert Parry and edited the overtures of William Boyce for Musica Britannica. An all-Finzi concert at the Royal Festival Hall in 1954 acknowledged his standing in Britain’s musical life.
A commission from Sir John Barbirolli for the 1955 Cheltenham Festival brought forth the Cello Concerto (1951-52,54-55), Finzi’s most ambitious, purely instrumental work.“ (Biography « Gerald Finzi Official Site)
How did Bunting become involved? Both he and FInzi were prominent British musicians, and the composer contracted Bunting to advise him on what the London Times calls “technical matters,” which also records that “in the event, he impressed the composer and conductor enough to be chosen as the work’s first soloist.”
(https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chrisptopher-bunting-w9zjhkqt8jg)
“Finzi finally lost the fight against his illness and he died on September 27, 1956. His Cello Concerto was first broadcast the night before he died.
Today, his music continues to be much admired and celebrated. It embraces a rich variety of moods, from elegiac lyricism, through spiritual reflection, to radiant joy. In particular the deaths of his father, three brothers and his teacher introduced the theme of fragility and transient existence, which was explored in many later works.”
(Biography « Gerald Finzi Official Site)
“After being bowled over by Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto I knew I had to listen to this. I try not to read other reviewer’s comments before I listen, but in this case I happened to. The writer compared this concerto with Elgar’s! Now, I am not a fervid fan of that piece, but I do like it a lot, so this is big stuff. Sure enough, the opening does call forth the same work by Elgar. Finzi adds an element of anger about the whole situation and for that reason I really prefer it. It is more ‘emotional.’” - Robert Stumpf II
For comparison, the Elgar Cello Concerto: Jacqueline du Pre & Daniel Barenboim - Elgar Cello Concerto - YouTube
A Closing Thought
“The artist is like the coral insect, building his reef out of the transitory world around him and making a solid structure to last long after his fragile and uncertain life…”— Gerald Finzi (qtd. in Boosey and Hawkes’ biography)
View all episodes
By WYBC / KincaidDiscography:
Bach, J.S.: Cello Suite No. 6. Performed by Christopher Bunting Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prelude - YouTube
Finzi, Bernard: Farewell to Arms (0p.9) Performed by the City of London Sinfonietta and Martin Hill (tenor)Gerald Finzi, ‘Farewell to arms’ - YouTube
Finzi, Bernard: Cello Concerto. Performed by Tim Hugh (cello) with the Northern Sinfonia conducted by Howard Griffiths. Finzi Cello concerto - YouTube
Part 1: The Eccentric Cellist - Christopher Bunting
An odd bit of advice:
“One of the most stultifying and ubiquitous aspects of ‘stuckness’ at an early infantile state is perfectionism. Consider a simple machine that controls its own behaviour by sensing the relevant portion of reality and by feeding back the resultant information to the controlling function. Consider, for instance, the household thermostat controlling a central-heating system.
Mr. Smith, Mr. N. Riche and Mr. I.D.K=L. Plato would all like to maintain a termperature of 65 degrees in their houses. Mr. Smith buys a thermostat that switches the system on at 60 degrees and off at 70 degrees and is very happy with it. His house stays at more-or-less 65 degrees. Mr. N. Riche would like something a little more sophisticated, a little more ‘accurate,’ a little more demonstrably expensive! He buys one that switches the system on at 64.99 degrees F and off at 65.01 degrees F. Unfortunately on stormy nights it emulates James Thurber’s nervous card-table that switched capriciously into and out of its alternative mode as an ironing board — a case of mechanical identity crisis! Well, we are still, just, within the confines of sanity, but along comes Mr. I.D.L. Plato who will hear nothing of ‘limits’ or tolerances’ and is thus forced by inexorable logic to construct for himself a system that switches itself on at 65 degrees F and also off at the same temperature! On means off, do means don’t, yes means no, play means don’t play.
Bertrand Russell said: “All science is dominated by the notion of approximation” - as well he might!
When last seen Mr. I.D.L. Plato was being carted off to a sanatorium in the shape of a perfect dodecahedron. Alas it has no lavatory.” - Cristopher Bunting, An Essay on the Craft of ‘Cello Playing.
Bach, J.S.: Cello Suite No. 6. Performed by Christopher Bunting Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prelude - YouTube
The War Torn Composer - Gerald Finzi
“In 1951, however, Finzi learned that he was suffering from Hodgkin’s Disease, a form of leukaemia, and was told he had between five and ten years to live. The discovery in no way lessened his activities, particularly those undertaken for other composers.
He had championed Ivor Gurney in the 1930s and those efforts continued. He also worked on the music of Hubert Parry and edited the overtures of William Boyce for Musica Britannica. An all-Finzi concert at the Royal Festival Hall in 1954 acknowledged his standing in Britain’s musical life.
A commission from Sir John Barbirolli for the 1955 Cheltenham Festival brought forth the Cello Concerto (1951-52,54-55), Finzi’s most ambitious, purely instrumental work.“ (Biography « Gerald Finzi Official Site)
How did Bunting become involved? Both he and FInzi were prominent British musicians, and the composer contracted Bunting to advise him on what the London Times calls “technical matters,” which also records that “in the event, he impressed the composer and conductor enough to be chosen as the work’s first soloist.”
(https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chrisptopher-bunting-w9zjhkqt8jg)
“Finzi finally lost the fight against his illness and he died on September 27, 1956. His Cello Concerto was first broadcast the night before he died.
Today, his music continues to be much admired and celebrated. It embraces a rich variety of moods, from elegiac lyricism, through spiritual reflection, to radiant joy. In particular the deaths of his father, three brothers and his teacher introduced the theme of fragility and transient existence, which was explored in many later works.”
(Biography « Gerald Finzi Official Site)
“After being bowled over by Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto I knew I had to listen to this. I try not to read other reviewer’s comments before I listen, but in this case I happened to. The writer compared this concerto with Elgar’s! Now, I am not a fervid fan of that piece, but I do like it a lot, so this is big stuff. Sure enough, the opening does call forth the same work by Elgar. Finzi adds an element of anger about the whole situation and for that reason I really prefer it. It is more ‘emotional.’” - Robert Stumpf II
For comparison, the Elgar Cello Concerto: Jacqueline du Pre & Daniel Barenboim - Elgar Cello Concerto - YouTube
A Closing Thought
“The artist is like the coral insect, building his reef out of the transitory world around him and making a solid structure to last long after his fragile and uncertain life…”— Gerald Finzi (qtd. in Boosey and Hawkes’ biography)