Édouard Lalo wrote his CELLO CONCERTO IN D MINOR in 1876, in collaboration with the talented Belgian cellist Adolphe Fischer (1847-1891) who was the soloist at the work première the following year at the Cirque d’Hiver under the baton of Jules Pasdeloup. The programme was a great success and a week later it was repeated. Fischer then included the concerto in his tour and performed it in Vienna (13 January 1878, under Hans Richter ) and Leipzig (16 February 1878, conductor Karl Reinecke).
The concerto is among the most beautiful and enchanting romantic opuses in this genre, although it lacks the popularity of the cello masterpieces of Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák and Elgar. The sol instrument is the leading part in all three movements.
The first movement, Prelude: Lento – Allegro maestoso, is fully developed. It begins with a recitatory slow introduction to the orchestra and a recitative solo part pierced by orchestral chords. The two main themes in the cello are contrasted, the first theme sounding upbeat and the second – lyrical with several virtuoso passages. The majestic fast tempo is characteristic to the end of the movement.
After the quieter lyrical opening of the second movement, Intermezzo (Intermezzo: Andantino con moto – Allegro presto), the music picks up. The cello’s melodic line sounds beautiful against the delicate orchestral accompaniment. The woodwinds sound almost transparent in places, and the accompanying pizzicato chords in the strings stand out at the end of the movement.
The third movement, Introduction: Andante – Allegro vivace, is structured as a brief opening to the solo cello in moderate tempo and a lively rondo starting in the orchestra. The cello part is vividly pictorial. In the concerto’s finale, Lalo includes the theme from the popular sarsuela The Man is Weak (Spanish: El hombre es débil) by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri (1823-1894). The same theme was used by Pablo de Sarasate in his first Habanera (No. 2 of Op. 21), published in 1878, almost immediately after the concertо of Lalo.