Best Violin Concerto .

[haydnguy]

My apologies to you Despina. There was quite obviously stuff going on with me that had nothing to do with you and I directed my frustrations on you. My sincerest apologies.

As I have been reading since my last post, you are right of course. It is considered romantic in nature. The flaw in my thinking was that I thought that a work which was atonal could not be considered romantic.

It is my favorite at this time however.

[Despina41]

Originally Posted by SchubertGuy

There was quite obviously stuff going on with me that had nothing to do with you and I directed my frustrations on you.

That's cool - I do that with Wagner all the time.

[haydnguy]

Since I derailed this thread some time ago, I thought I might return to it and ask a question.

I've been listening on and off the last few days to Beethoven's VC. Other than micrologus saying it was her favorite, nothing has really been said about it. I was wondering if anyone can make any comments about it that may be of interest.

Thanks.

[Despina41]

Originally Posted by SchubertGuy

Since I derailed this thread some time ago, I thought I might return to it and ask a question.

I've been listening on and off the last few days to Beethoven's VC. Other than micrologus saying it was her favorite, nothing has really been said about it. I was wondering if anyone can make any comments about it that may be of interest.

Thanks.

Well, what can you say about the Beethoven violin concerto? It's surprisingly more placid than the Brahms. Its development section in the first movement is oddly restrained, more lost than struggling. Overall it's similar in my mind in its color, but not so much in mood.

One thing that sticks in my mind about that concerto is the very dif. character it can take on, depending on the performance tempo. I have a jolly old Heifetz performance (paired with the Brahms no less) that, as with many Heifetz performances, goes a bit faster than standard. The concerto becomes this pastoral, happy jaunt through the woods. I love it!
Compare to any of the many modern recordings; my mom's favorite is the young Mutter's with Karajan. So slow - and suddenly the piece is melancholy and majestic!


I don't find this with the Brahms. It tends to keep the same dramatic character at different tempos (assuming the performers can shape it at the slower speed; see Oistrakh). I do tend to prefer tempos on the Heifetz/Reiner side, as many slower performers make it tense in the way dripping molasses is -- "I can't wait for the next drop...zzzz- OH there it was! D minor!" The most recent recording that I like is Shaham's live performance with Abbado right before he left the Berlin Phil.

[haydnguy]

Thanks for that comment, Despina. Yeah, the version I have is your mom's favorite. After I listen to this for awhile, maybe I'll check out a faster version.

[Mischa]

The thread title finally met the truth!

The tempo question is a really interesting issue, some scholars claim for instance that the Larghetto should be played twice as fast as it's performed nowadays. Well, that appears to be a bit rough, though I do prefer the brisk approach, this bogging down in the lyrical beauty of the first movement destroys the entire flow that starts with the timpani.

For me the most striking aspect of the music is its simplicity, basically just scales and triads. The general character of the main themes is very folkloristic and pastoral, nothing to dazzle with, just pure beauty. No wonder that all the Paganinis and Rodes didn't favor it at all.

My favorite concerto, the music is so exuberant of ideas, it gets me everytime I listen to it! Francescatti, Zimmermann, Tetzlaff, Heifetz for me.

[Chilperich]

The Pfitzner Violin Concerto is a fascinating work that deserves to be far better known. The score (published by Eulenburg) is a delight - there aren't many violin concertos that feature trombones and bass tuba prominently, if at all, and yet the textures in the Pfitzner remain very clear.

This would make a good pairing with the Berg on CD.

[audiophilia]

Brahms (Heifetz)
Beethoven (Schneiderhan)
Sibelius (Haendel)
Berg (Mutter)
Tchaikovsky (Campoli)

[ninjaquartet]

There are two kind of violin concertos I see. One is emphasisted on violin virtuosoic, this is like Paganini's violin concerto or Tchaikovsky's. Then the other is composition orieantated, that is to give great orchestration to blend into the concerto, like Brahms' and Beethoven's. Overall I like the first one, because it's intended to put violin sound to its technical edge, for composition I can find it in symphony. My list of best violin concerto should be like this :

Mendelssohn's in Em
Paganini no.2 La Campanella
Tchaikovsky's
Lalo Symphony Espagnole
Bruch no.1 in Gm
Joseph Joachim 'Hungarian style' violin concerto
and many more......

[marquis66]

Perhaps moving slightly off thread, but I have ordered, and am anxiously waiting for a copy of the score for the Barber concerto to start studying. Seems to be an interesting work, although not one that I am very familiar with. Can anyone recommend a recording?