Daniel van Goens: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 7

It is with great appreciation and gratitude to the soloist, Orfeo Mandozzi for his permission to present the complete work that I share it. It is my express desire that any and all possible or actual remuneration be directed towards him and all other holders of copyright. Daniel van Goens (1858-1904) Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 7 I. Allegro non troppo 0:00 II. Andante, quasi Adagio 8:07 III. Allegro 12:09 Orfeo Mandozzi, cello Extremadura Symphony Orchestra Jesus Amigo, conductor Daniel van Goens, was a Dutch-born cellist, and composer. Born in Leiden, he began studying cello at an early age. When he was 14 years old his parents decided to move to a more favourable climate with him, his sister and brother – the only three of eleven children to survive – in order to escape the constant threat of tuberculosis: first to Montpellier (1872), then to Lausanne (1873), but finally returning further north to Paris (1879). It was here that Van Goens decided to abandon his legal studies and to enroll at the Conservatoire. He studied cello with Léon Jacquard and composition with Albert Lavignac, graduating with highest distinction in 1883. He showed great promise as a cellist, and was expected to embark on a playing career; however, his poor state of health increasingly thwarted such hopes. He spent the winters in Menton or in the mountains of Wallis. As a composer Van Goens was particularly drawn towards composing shorter works, which could be described as a distinguished type of salon music. Unsurprisingly, most of these works are for cello and piano. They were published by leading Parisian publishers such as Hamelle, Durand and Rouart. He also composed several orchestral works and two cello concertos: no.1 in A minor opus 7 (1886/87, published around 1899, à la mémoire du maître Léon Jacquard) and no.2 in D minor opus 30 (published around 1901, dedicated to David Popper). His last composition for cello and piano is the Berceuse opus 46, dedicated to his young daughter Gertrude, who was born of his marriage with the pianist Germaine Pollack shortly before his death. His most popular composition is undoubtedly the Scherzo opus 12 no.2. The ‘Van Goens Scherzo’ has become such a household name among cellists that no one actually ever stops to wonder who he was and where he came from. At the time of publication of the second volume of Dutch Cello Sonatas (2010) he was an obscure figure and not even a photograph of him was available. Fortunately, this situation has changed in recent times and a short biography of him will be published in the near future.