May 3: Shelomo premiere

On May 3, 1917, the premiere of Ernest Bloch's work "Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra " took place at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Shelomo is the Hebrew name of King Solomon. The voice of Shelomo is the cello. When talking about this voice, the words of critic Guido Gatti are usually quoted: "The cello, with its considerable breadth of phrasing, sometimes melodic, sometimes reaching the heights of lyricism, sometimes declaiming, with a dramatic play of shadow and light, is the embodiment of Solomon in all his glory. The soloist's part, more vocal than instrumental, seems to be a musical statement deeply connected with Talmudic prose."

Bloch dedicated this work to the remarkable cellist, Alexander Mikhailovich Barzhansky, a native of the Russian Empire. The composer not only admired his performing art, but also found a friend in him during the difficult years of World War I.

It is curious that Barzhansky not only played in chamber concerts with excellent pianists (for example, with Artur Schnabel), but also often played music with amateurs - Albert Einstein and Elizabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium.