The first movement has two contrasting themes, the first in dotted rhythm and initially hesitant and the second in B major (begun by the cellos), wide-ranging and expressive. These are, in turn, dissected and ornamented by the soloist with formidable virtuosity, using multiple-stopping and harmonics and, notably in the cadenza, the extreme upper register of the violin.
The second movement, Preghiera (Prayer), is a short lyrical interlude in A major, with the orchestra woodwinds and horns given much prominence; it leads right into the concluding Rondo, a colourful and vivacious piece with a contrasting episode in B major and demanding bravura playing, but without the first movement's extreme pyrotechnics (suggesting that it was composed earlier).
Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 1, Sz. 36, BB 48a was written in the years 1907–1908, but only published in 1959, after the composer's death, as "Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. posth." It was premiered on 30 May 1958 in Basel, Switzerland.
Background
The concerto was dedicated, as was Othmar Schoeck's concerto for the same instrument, to the violinist Stefi Geyer, with whom Bartók was in love. Geyer could not reciprocate Bartók's feelings and rejected the concerto. It was revived after both Bartók and Geyer had died. Geyer's copy of the manuscript was bequeathed to Paul Sacher to be performed by him and Hansheinz Schneeberger. The concerto was later championed by David Oistrakh. Acclaimed recordings include Oistrakh with Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting, as well as versions by Maxim Vengerov and György Pauk.
Structure
The composition strays from the path of the traditional concerto, having two rather than three movements:
Andante sostenuto
Allegro giocoso
Far from being an innovation, the two-movement form is the traditional design of the rhapsody: a slow movement followed by a fast one. Bartók had already used this form in 1904 for his first concertante work, the Rhapsody, Op. 1, for piano and orchestra (Mason 1958, 15).
Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, is considered one of the first modern violin concertos. It rejects traditional tonality and romantic aesthetics.
It was written in 1916 while the composer was in Zarudzie, Ukraine. Paul Kochanski advised Szymanowski on the fine point of violin technique during the composition of the concerto, and he later wrote the cadenza. The work is dedicated to Kochański. The likely inspiration for the concerto was Noc Majowa, a poem by the Polish poet Tadeusz Miciński. The concerto doesn't follow or duplicate the poem, yet Szymanowski's ecstatic, sumptuous music is an ideal companion to Miciński's language:
All the birds pay tribute to me
for today I wed a goddess.
And now we stand by the lake in crimson blossom
in flowing tears of joy, with rapture and fear,
burning in amorous conflagration."
The Violin Concerto No. 1 was premiered 1 November 1922 in Warsaw with Józef Ozimiński as the soloist.
Роден съм в черна немотия тъй както дядо ми и аз! Баща ми също бе от тия родените в злощастен час! Отдавна мъката е с нас и както моите деди! В бедняшки гроб ще легна аз! Над мене няма герб да бди! Отдавна мъката е с нас! Родените в злощастен час!
DULUTH Hold onto your soul. Late fall is here, and winter's just around the corner ... The timeless aspect is the majestic music of Jean Sibelius, whose "Symphony No. 2" will close the program; and of Henryk Wieniawski, whose "ViolinConcerto No.
Baldwin pauses and asks the violins to revisit a measure or two, stressing that he wants to hear a distinct "YUM-pum-pum-pum." ... The first movement of Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski's ViolinConcerto No.
They’re preparing for the big day when Yoeun will play MozartViolinConcerto No ... by Waxman WieniawskiEtude No. 4 and Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 ... Violin Concerto No ... Moreover, Mozart violin concerto No.
The Bryan Eagle
11 Nov 2023
The Bryan Eagle
11 Nov 2023