Violin Concerto (Brahms)

The Violin Concerto in D major, Op 77 by Johannes Brahms is his only violin concerto and one of the most famous works of this genre.

Genesis

Brahms began work in the summer of 1878 during a summer stay in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. The end of August he sent his friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim, the violin part of the first set and the beginning of the finale with the announcement that " the whole story four sets " should have. A few weeks later, Brahms, however, had opted for the classic form in three sets. Connected with the request that they notify him amendments, he sent the entire solo part to Joachim. In his first correction wish he sent back Brahms, Joachim simplified the work. Particularly difficult at some points in regard to major solo action Brahms was initially considered only a few of these changes. There followed an intense struggle between the two musicians around the shape, which continued through the first performance beyond. For example, commented Joachim the tempo marking of the last sentence with " non troppo vivace? would be too heavy. " Brahms then added " ma non troppo vivace " added, it emphasized again, and put it in the final score but then again. Since Brahms himself the violin had not mastered and composed from the perspective of the pianist, the exchange with Joachim was crucial to the final shape of the piece.

With Brahms as conductor and Joachim as soloist, the work was premiered on New Year's Day 1879 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In October of the same year it published Fritz Simrock.

The best known cadenzas were of Joachim, a number of musicians, however, have offered alternatives, among them Leopold Auer and Ferruccio Busoni.

Construction

The plant has - like most concerts since the Baroque - three sets according to the pattern fast-slow - fast:

With many other violin concertos, virtuoso display for the soloist is in the foreground, form and content to organize the under, the orchestra has only an accompanying feature. In contrast, follows Brahms ' symphonic concert principles. As in his first and second piano concerto the solo voice is first among equals. It is not limited to figuration and melodic embellishment topics, but takes a significant part in the development of motives.

The first, epic - broad set is more than 20 minutes. He remembered already Clara Schumann to the head movement of Brahms ' Second Symphony. He begins with a simple, periodically executed triadic theme, leads on to a second subject with strong syncopated frictions and ends with feeling in a dreamy vocal theme.

The delicate, lyrical Adagio in the second sentence lingers for a long time in the woodwinds and horns, before the violin finally picks up the theme and developed jointly with the orchestra.

The final movement presents a showy Rondo with colored Hungarian dance themes that are further developed in the interplay between the solo violin and orchestra. At the end of Brahms fools the listener with a little surprise: The piece seems hinwegzudämmern in a plagal cadence of the violin - but then uses the orchestra to the energetic final chord.

Occupation

The work is scored for solo violin and orchestra with two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Reception

The criticism responded to split the work. The first performance in Leipzig was a success. Some contemporary musicians liked Brahms ' symphonic conception of the instrumental concerto and the technical difficulties, however, do not accept: The conductor Hans von Bülow was of the view that the work is less " for" the violin written as " against the violin ". Henryk Wieniawski called the piece unplayable, and the violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate refused to play it on the grounds that he finds it intolerable to have to overhear how the oboe withheld the only melody of the violin concerto at the beginning of the 2nd movement. Worn down by this criticism should Brahms have burned his sketches for a second violin concerto.

Similar criticisms had been voiced earlier over other works for strings, such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Berlioz 's Harold en Italie.

The spectrum of known interpretations of the violin and concert part and in particular the cadences is remarkable. Many great violin virtuoso and conductor recordings are available today. Here may be mentioned as examples: Gidon Kremer with conductors Leonard Bernstein and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Jascha Heifetz with Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky, David Oistrakh with Franz Konwitschny and Otto Klemperer, Itzhak Perlman with Carlo Maria Giulini, Arabella Steinbacher with Fabio Luisi, Maxim Vengerov with Daniel Barenboim, Anne- Sophie Mutter with Herbert von Karajan and Kurt Masur, Viktoria Mullova with Claudio Abbado.

Technical Requirements

The Violin Concerto is commonly considered one of the most important works in the repertoire of a violinist. The technical demands on the soloist, with the use of double stops, arpeggios, very rapid scale passages and rhythmic variations are impressive.

By Joseph Joachim metronome markings are preserved. This suggests that he is very fast-paced recited the work - contrary to his initial reservations, and much faster than is common in today's concert performances.

Trivia

The third movement of the Violin Concerto is as the theme song of the award-winning feature film There Will Be Blood use.