Double the Fun

By Leilani Polk

A composer of the mid-Romantic era whose work is rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of his Classical-era predecessors, Johannes Brahms was considered the heir apparent of Ludwig van Beethoven by many of his contemporaries. He strove to live up to this ideal before ultimately claiming his own place among the greats and becoming influential well beyond his lifetime. More than 125 years after his death, Brahms’ works are a staple of concert repertoire, encompassing four symphonies, four concertos, a Requiem and various other songs and music for symphony orchestra, piano, organ, voices and chamber ensembles.  

His Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor or “Double Concerto,” was his final work for orchestra, and was written for two of his oldest friends, cellist Robert Hausmann and violinist Joseph Joachim, although the latter was estranged from Brahms before the piece was written; this was a musical olive branch of sorts, a gesture meant to restore their relationship, which it did. Brahms gave the manuscript to Joachim with the inscription “To him for whom it was written.” 

Seattle Symphony Concertmaster Noah Geller and Principal Cello Efe Baltacıgil, colleagues and friends, take up the soloist positions of the Double Concerto in the Symphony performances on October 3 & 5. We chatted with them a bit about the piece and their work on it. “I love sharing the stage with Efe,” said Noah. “He plays with a passion and commitment that is infectious, and I know this is apparent to the audience as well.” This will be the pair’s second time soloing together; the first was Camille Saint-Saëns’ La muse et le poète in the 2022/2023 season’s opening night. 

How familiar are you with this work? Have either of you performed it in the past?  

Noah: I’ve never played the Brahms Double before. It’s a bucket list item for me that I’m finally fulfilling! I actually watched Efe perform this piece, his first time in Philadelphia as soloist with the Curtis Orchestra, and it was a memorable performance that made me think of him as the perfect partner. 

Efe: Yes, I have performed it, in Norway, Turkey and New York most recently. 

What excites you most about your respective parts in the piece and how they fit together? Is there something in particular that you enjoy about playing this work? 

Noah: A work like this is exciting because every part is enjoyable to play — not just the solo parts, but in the orchestra as well, which means all the musicians on stage will be engaged and playing off one another. Brahms was masterful in his writing of counterpoint, meaning that each line he writes is important — he rarely writes oom-pah-pah oom-pah-pah accompaniments. Thus, it will be a joy to figure out how our individual lines fit together and to explore interesting and expressive ways to play them.  

Efe: It is an engaging conversation between the orchestra and each soloist as well. Feels like a symphony with a cello and violin part on steroids, in a good way. 

Tell me about the biggest challenges of playing this piece for each of you. 

Noah: The violin and cello parts largely share the same material, although it’s usually the cello introducing themes first. While this might seem like the parts are “equal,” the cello actually has to traverse a much greater distance than the violin to play these lines, so I’d give the technical difficulty edge to the cello. But really, the challenge with Brahms or any great composer is to become a conduit for their greatness, and to project a pure rendition of their music through ourselves.  

Efe: Well, balance is an issue in this work and there are a few very challenging bars that need attention from both of us. 

Critic Donald Tovey wrote that the concerto had “vast and sweeping humor” and apparently Brahms also referred to his Double Concerto with words like “funny,” “amusing,” “folly,” and “prank”; where do you personally believe this humor comes in? Do you feel it at all with this work? 

Noah: There are certainly clever and playful moments in this piece, and one can sense that Brahms is feeling lighter in parts of the slow movement and third movement, but as far as “vast and sweeping humor” goes, I’d reserve that description for Bugs Bunny or Donald Duck. 

Efe: It is true that the last movement is indeed great fun and folk dance-like, but I think the first two movements are rather sincere and emotional. 

How does rehearsing a duet differ from when you rehearse for a solo? Outside of trying to schedule the actual rehearsal. 

Efe: Well, you need two music stands ... 

Noah: Just like a piece of chamber music, it requires individual practice and then practice together.  And a big piece like this deserves a fair amount of rehearsal time to get everything “just right.” I can’t wait to bring this piece to our amazing Seattle audience, and I have to mention that we’ll be performing this with one of our favorite conductors, Alevtina Ioffe. She is sure to bring a deep intensity to the performance that will bring down the house! 

Efe: Very much looking forward to sharing this masterwork with our audiences in early October 2024. Thank you for your generous support to fine arts. 

See Noah and Efe rehearse Brahms’ Double Concerto here. 

Noah Geller’s position is generously underwritten as the David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster. 

Efe Baltacıgil’s position is generously underwritten as the Marks Family Foundation Principal Cello. 

Noah Geller’s performances are generously sponsored by Patricia and Jon Rosen. 

Efe Baltacıgil’s performances are generously sponsored by the Marks Family Foundation. 

Performances of Brahms Double Concerto are generously sponsored by Patricia Tall-Takacs and Gary Takacs.