Czech Philharmonic ⬩ Sol Gabetta

“I am more alone and the prey of circumstances than ever before. Everything good and nice and clean and fresh and sweet is far away—never to return.”
–⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ letter from Edward Elgar dated 1919

When Elgar wrote his Cello Concerto in 1919, besides suffering from ill health, he was also dealing with the traumatic aftermath of the horrors of World War I. According to the Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta, however, one must take a more complex view of the work.

“It is enormously moving, especially the beginning and the end, which appear like two Greek columns. It is amazing what you can find between them! Elgar wrote the concerto late in life when he was not well, but it is often forgotten that there is more there than just melancholy. Especially the second movement has plenty of humour and life. That is surprising! It is almost as if it doesn’t belong there, yet it is a part of it.”

Gabetta regards the composition as a platform that lets the instrument shine like few others. The concerto was not made popular until the 1960s by her legendary colleague Jacqueline du Pré, demonstrating the importance of soloists as “interpreters who communicate compositions”.

Gabetta has clear ideas about the work’s interpretation: “Preconceived ideas stop up your ears. This is also important to me when teaching. I don’t want my students to play like I do! Sometimes they offer something that I don’t like at first, but that does not mean it isn’t good. My task is then to help them find a convincing way on the basis of their taste and interpretation. It is also important to be sure of yourself and of your interpretation. Only then can you convince the public. When people—young, old, critics, whoever—come to a concert with a fixed opinion and are no longer listening, that’s a problem. Anyone who has never heard a composition before automatically comes with open ears and immediately notices: It touches me—or it does not.”