Violin Concerto (Beethoven)

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven is Beethoven's only consummate concert of this genus.

Work history

Beethoven composed the work for his friend, the virtuoso violinist Franz Clement (1780-1842), who brought it on 23 December 1806 one of his concerts at the Theater an der Wien premiere. The Viennese critic Moser wrote about it in the theater newspaper:

" The excellent violinist Klement played under other exquisite pieces, including a violin concerto by Beethhofen that its originality and varied beautiful places was received with applause because ausnehmendem. You empfieng particularly Klement's proven art and grace, its strength and safety on the violin, which is his slave, with noisy Bravo. The educated world fell on it, as Klement could degrade to some gnats and antics to amuse about the mob because he virtue but express in any former production beauty and grandeur. We are not opposed this opinion. About Beethhofens Concert is the judgment of connoisseurs undivided, it admits the same, some beauty, but confesses that the context often seem completely broken, and that could be the endless repetitions of some common points tire easily. It says that Beethhoven use its recognized great talents, associated, and our works may give the same his first symphonies of C and D, its graceful Septets from it, the witty Quintets of D major, and several of his earlier compositions, which it are always put in the row of the first composers. But one fears at the same time, if Beethhofen converts continued on this path, so going to go bad dabey he and the Publicum. The music could soon come to the point that anyone who is not thoroughly familiar with the rules and difficulties of art, absolutely no enjoyment bey you find, but through a lot of unrelated and überhäufter ideas and an ongoing turmoil of some instruments that characterize the input should be pressed to the ground, only with an unpleasant feeling of weariness leave the Koncert. Audiences enjoyed generally this Conzert and Clements fancies extraordinary. "

The biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer Beethoven says, "that Clement played his solo without a trial a vista. " The first edition appeared at Vienna's Bureau des Arts et d'industrie and Stephan von Breuning was dedicated. The published by the same publisher version for piano Beethoven dedicated Breuning's wife, Julie, born of Vering ( 1791-1809 ).

Description of the work

The first set corresponds to the sonata form. Four quiet drumbeats, followed by the presentation of the main theme in the woodwinds, initiate the movement, whose song-like and yet majestic main theme spreads a lyrical mood. The timpani motif recurs at several points of the set again. The solo violin begins only after the presentation of the two main themes and an approximately three-minute orchestral passage.

The interpretation of the timpani motif applies since Beethoven's death as a lively topic of discussion. Robin Stowell points out in his monograph suggests that the first sentence reflects the pioneering spirit of the French Revolution, and the Beethoven pupil Carl Czerny (1791-1857) indicates a metronome mark for the quarter 126, ie a rapid march pace. The melody would be to think in Half. This interpretation is confirmed by Beethoven cadenza for the piano version, where the timpani motif military sounding trumpet signals and a march motif appear. The earliest recordings of the Beethoven concerto by Wolf Valley ( 1929) and Huberman (1934 ) reach almost the specified Czerny pace while later artists prefer calmer tempo, so for example with Anne- Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerov.

The third set captures the 6/8-Thema on a hunting theme, which is processed cadence virtuoso ornamental later.

Effect

The work is considered as a prototype of its kind and influenced their development significantly. However, the premiere was not a success, and the concert was performed in the following decades, hardly.

It was not until 1844, 17 years after Beethoven's death, there was a breakthrough when the then 13 - year-old Joseph Joachim brought the concert as a soloist for the re-enactment, with the orchestra conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Since then it is one of the most important works of concert music for violin.

Beethoven This concert has also transcribed for piano (op. 61 ). However, the piano version does not reach the quality of the Violin Concerto, which is why some suggest that the transcription is not from the master himself, but one of his students had been transferred (see also: Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op 77). The Russian conductor and pianist Mikhail Pletnev Vasilyevich edited this Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra. This version was recorded in 2000, with Michael Collins as soloist.

Trivia

The second theme from the first movement of the concerto was used for the acoustic transmitter identification of ZDF.

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