Accompanied by the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra), American violinist Hilary Hahn performs Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. Recorded at the Korean Art Centre Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea on June 11, 2012. Conductor: Paavo Järvi.
The concerto is Mendelssohn’s last large orchestral work. Premiered in Leipzig on March 13, 1845, it forms an important part of the violin repertoire and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time.
Anyone aspiring to be a concert violinist simply has to have this one in his or her repertoire.
Classic.fm
In 1906, the year before his death, celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim told the guests at his 75th birthday party:
The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven’s. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart’s jewel, is Mendelssohn’s.
Joseph Joachim
The work is scored for solo violin and a standard classical orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.
The concerto consists of three movements with the following tempo markings:
- Allegro molto appassionato (E minor)
- Andante (C major)
- Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace (E major)
Sources
- Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn) on Wikipedia
- Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 on Britannica
- Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor on Classic.fm
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