Ernest Bloch - Concerto Symphonique (1948) {Halida Dinova}

Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. Several of his most notable compositions reflect his Jewish heritage. As well as producing musical scores, Bloch had an academic career that culminated in his recognition as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. He and his wife lived primarily in the small coastal community of Agate Beach, Oregon (Not far from where I live (BB)). In 1947 he was among the founders of the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory.

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Concerto Symphonique, B.77 (1947-48)
Dedication: Mary Tibaldi Chiesa (1896–1968)

1. Pesante (0:00)
2. Allegro vivace (15:43)
3. Allegro deciso (29:38)

Halida Dinova, piano and the St. Petersburg State Academic Cappella Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Tschemushenko.

Bloch’s Concerto Symphonique is a work on the grand scale of the Brahms concertos, the technically demanding piano part placed in equal partnership with the orchestra. Premiered in 1949 at the Edinburgh Festival, its acerbic melodic material seems, at least on the surface, to be far removed from the Hebraic intensity of the much better-known Schelomo. Nonetheless, the epic sonorities of the outer movements conjure up a vision of biblical grandeur not dissimilar in character to Miklós Rósza’s film score to Ben Hur. To what extent extra-musical events may have determined the score’s strenuous nature is not clear, though the relentless march-like material that dominates the Finale and the grotesquerie of the middle movement scherzo (Allegro vivace) surely relate to the turmoil of the Second World War.