Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last large orchestral work. It forms an important part of the violin repertoire and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time. A typical performance lasts just under half an hour.
Mendelssohn originally proposed the idea of the violin concerto to Ferdinand David, a close friend and then concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Although conceived in 1838, the work took another six years to complete and was not premiered until 1845. During this time, Mendelssohn maintained a regular correspondence with David, who gave him many suggestions. The work itself was one of the foremost violin concertos of the Romantic era and was influential on many other composers.
Although the concerto consists of three movements in a standard fast–slow–fast structure and each movement follows a traditional form, the concerto was innovative and included many novel features for its time. Distinctive aspects include the almost immediate entrance of the violin at the beginning of the work (rather than following an orchestral preview of the first movement's major themes, as was typical in Classical-era concertos) and the through-composed form of the concerto as a whole, in which the three movements are melodically and harmonically connected and played attacca (each movement immediately following the previous one).
Samuel Barber completed his Violin Concerto, Op. 14, in 1939. It is a work in three movements, lasting about 22 minutes.
History
In 1939, Philadelphia industrialist Samuel Simeon Fels commissioned Barber to write a violin concerto for Fels' ward, Iso Briselli, a graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music the same year as Barber, 1934. The Barber biographies written by Nathan Broder (1954) and Barbara B. Heyman (1992) discuss the genesis of the concerto during the period of the violin concerto's commission and subsequent year leading up to the first performance. Heyman interviewed Briselli and others familiar with the history in her publication. In late 2010, previously unpublished letters written by Fels, Barber, and Albert Meiff (Briselli's violin coach in that period) from the Samuel Simeon Fels Papers archived at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania became available to the public.
Barber accepted his advance and went to Switzerland to work on the concerto. Barber started working on the first two movements in Switzerland during the summer of 1939. He hoped to complete the concerto in the early fall to meet the October 1st deadline. His plans were interrupted, however, due to the impending war—all Americans were warned to leave Europe. In late August, he went to Paris and then took a ship to the USA, arriving in early September. After spending a short time with his family in West Chester, PA, he went to the Pocono Mountains to continue working on the concerto.
Ludwig van Beethoven composed a Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, in 1806. Its first performance by Franz Clement was unsuccessful and for some decades the work languished in obscurity, until revived in 1844 by Joseph Joachim. Since then it has become one of the best-known violin concertos.
Genesis
Beethoven had previously written a number of pieces for violin and orchestra. At some point in 1790–2, before his musical maturity, he began a Violin Concerto in C, of which only a fragment of the first movement survives. Whether the work, or even the first movement, had ever been completed is not known. However, even if complete, it was neither performed nor published. Later in the 1790s, Beethoven had completed two Romances for violin - first the Romance in F and later the Romance in G.
These works show a strong influence from the French school of violin playing, exemplified by violinists such as Giovanni Battista Viotti, Pierre Rode and Rodolphe Kreutzer. The two Romances, for instance, are in a similar style to slow movements of concerti by Viotti. This influence can also be seen in the D major Concerto; the 'martial' opening with the beat of the timpani follows the style of French music at the time, while the prevalence of figures in broken sixths and broken octaves closely resembles elements of compositions by Kreutzer and Viotti.
The Violin Concerto by the American composerJohn Adams was written in 1993. Its premiere was in 1994 by Jorja Fleezanis with the Minnesota Orchestra. Fleezanis also collaborated with Adams in writing the violin solo.
8 p.m ...Mendelssohn’s ViolinConcerto. Australian-American soloist GenevaLewis makes her Florida Orchestra debut in a sparkling masterpiece, Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto,” a beloved star of the repertoire since it premiered more than 175 years ago ... 8.
Check out these fairs, festivals, performing arts events and more things to do in the Milwaukee area this winter. FAIRS, FESTIVALS & TRADE SHOWS ... Jan. 1 ... Mendelssohn’s ViolinConcerto and Beethoven’s Eighth, 2 p.m ... Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony, March 7-9.
We need action on mental health services ... (Psychology Today, Feb. 28, 2023) ... On Nov ... The Mendelssohn violin concerto played by Hina Khuong Huu was a technical virtuosity and that 2nd movement stamped out any tension from the elections ... As per your Mr.
Due to potential changes and cancellations, we encourage you to check with presenting organizations about the status of their events. 1 ... 16 from 1 to 5 p.m ... 6 “Pathetique,” along with violinist Hina Khuong-Huu performing Mendelssohn’s ViolinConcerto ... 1.
In his ViolinConcerto in D minor, Op 47, you may detect the influence of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, but the mood, from the opening phrase, urgent yet fragile, sturdy and volatile, is indelibly his.
The playful high notes of the two violins and the viola interlocked with the foundational sounds of the cello and double bass ... 6 and Mendelssohn's ViolinConcerto under the baton of Reiland.
San Diego Union-Tribune
25 Aug 2024
San Diego Union-Tribune
25 Aug 2024