Violin Concerto (Sibelius)

The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op 47 is an instrumental concert by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto.

Description of the work

The work consists of three movements:

The first movement in sonata form begins without lengthy orchestral prelude almost immediately with the entry of the solo violin over a long-lasting tremolo in the muted strings. On the main theme followed by a first small solo cadenza before the orchestra intones the page set. The role of the implementation is then occupied by a large solo cadenza. The recapitulation varies the topics presented spacious.

The lyrical second movement in ternary form is in turn determined by a, where deep - romantic main theme.

The exuberant, ecstatic finale, described by the composer as a danse macabre, processed two different themes and allows the soloist displaying the virtuosity that is both firmly embedded in the orchestral set.

The performance lasts about 30 minutes.

Occupation

Solo Violin - Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion, strings

History

The first version of the concerto composed Sibelius in 1903 out at the suggestion of violinist Willy Burmester. It was intended for this and should be premiered in Berlin. However, Sibelius moved the premiere financial reasons to Helsinki, so Burmester the premiere could not play due to other commitments appointment. The premiere then took place on February 8, 1904 in Helsinki with Viktor Nováček as a soloist under the baton of the composer instead. Not least because the soloist was the work technically not up to the concert fell through with audiences and critics.

The work was then substantially revised in the years 1904-05 and especially simplified style. The revised version was premiered on 19 October 1905 in Berlin with Carl Halir and the Court Orchestra Berlin under the baton of Richard Strauss. Willy Burmester was the fact that he was passed over again, so angry that he refused to ever play the concert, after which Sibelius was the dedication of the concert at the Hungarian prodigy violinist Franz von Vecsey. The premiere of the revised version became more successful than the first attempt, and in the subsequent period, the plant slowly prevailed, especially as important as violinist Jascha Heifetz and David Oistrakh recordings it in their repertoire. For decades, the new version of the concert was played exclusively until the early 1990s, the original version of Leonidas Kavakos and the Sinfonia Lahti was the first time brought to the stage.

The only Violin Concerto by Sibelius was born in the early phase of his symphonic works 2 to 3 symphony. It works stylistically but far less " Nordic " or "Finnish" than his previous works and is rather a more general late-romantic style obliged. The concert is now one of the most performed works by the composer and is also considered one of the great violin concertos of the twentieth century.

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