# Violin concertos: Not a poll!



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The 19th century saw quite a few fantastic violin concertos -- among the biggies were Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Tchaikovsky...and there are others of course. Each one to me shows a different aspect of the times, of the human spirit.

How do you consider these concertos? How do you compare one to the other, not in terms of which is "best," but how do they differ? How are they similar? Thoughts?

Push forward into the 20th century if you like...


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Well I really like the romantic violin concertos, I would say.....

Mendelssohn, inward and emotional
Brahms, virtuosic
Sibelius, beautiful
Dvorak, majestic
Schumann, powerful 
Beethoven, calm and tenderly 
Tchaikovsky, romantic
Bruch, annoyingly overplayed but still good


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

This might sound a little strange, but I like violin concertos that sound "motherly" to me, similar to how I like piano concertos that sound "fatherly" to me. I can't really describe it. Maybe it has something to do with the nature of the violin's timbre, I'm not sure, but for me this is definitely the biggest similarity among great violin concertos.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I can't find the not-voting options. 

Anyway - 

Bruch 1: way underrated primarily because of the name on the title
Lalo SE: ditto 
Spohr: ditto 
Tchaikovsky: actually his best concerto 
Brahms, Beethoven: I dare not comment
Schumann: seriously? what the heck dude? not even as good as the piano concerto 

I hope I live to regret some of these opinions. But if not, hey.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Violin concertos tend to bore me rigid, even Ravel's _Tzigane_. The only ones I have heard recently that I really like are that of Bernd Alois Zimmermann, which is unfortunately and curiously absent from YouTube, and I say curiously since the majority of his output is available there, some even in multiple recordings, and Henri Dutilleux's _L'arbre des songes_. I have yet to hear Elliott Carter's concerto, but, based on the strength of his other concertante works, I dare say I will find plenty of enjoyment in that as well. A less recently heard concerto _In tempus praesens_ by Sofia Gubaidulina also impressed me a great deal.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Well, the problem with violin concertos has to do, I think, with the register of the instrument. To be more precise, with the absence of low notes in the instrument. When the violin part enters, it is always that small and scratchy sound. Personally, sometimes, I find the lack of contrast in this respect as something annoying.
Of course, the advantage is the enormous possibility you have in terms of tone color and effects.
Great examples of how this aspect can be exploited can be found in Ligeti's or Chin's violin concertos.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Ditto on the screechy sound. I'm not real fond of the 19th century overuse of vibrato either. I have to pretend it is a theremin before I can begin to enjoy many romantic violin performance practices.

I'll look through my catalog alphabetically, omitting the many I cant remember:

*Beethoven* - I find his the most inspiring, though I like it better as a piano concerto.

*Berg* - Not 19th century maybe, but permitted and few are as romantic as this. It is among the most moving I have ever heard. It may be Second Viennese School, but is _not_ screechy. I would even go so far as to say this moves me almost as much as the Beethoven.

*Saint-Saens* - Violin Concerto No. 3. I think this is the first piece in which I noticed the use of overtone or harmonic stops on the violin. Maybe it is more prominent in this concerto than in others if it is widely used. I had heard it for decades on guitars of course, but never thought about it on a stringed instrument. The effect is haunting.

*Louis Spohr* - Violin Concerto No. 7. Pleasant themes. Pure non-quirky classical music, not too bombastic or pretentious, not too intellectual, Just right. It does tend to go on a bit before the violin comes in though.

Weirdly enough I have no memory of the Berwald, Brahms or the Mendelssohn. I have the Sibelius but I recall it sounding tedious to me and I have not listened since that first hearing. Apologies to Sibelius fanboys. I like his work, just not that piece.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Some 3 or 4 years ago I began to delve deeper into the Baroque... going beyond Bach, Handel, & Vivaldi. As usual, my foucus was initially set upon vocal music, but with time I became more interested in instrumental music. There are some marvelous violin concertos to be found by Baroque composers including:

Alessandro Marcello
Giuseppe Torelli
G. P. Telemann
Antonio Vivaldi
Giuseppe Tartini
Pietro Locatelli
Jean-Marie Leclair
etc...


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes, I personally don't think Bach's VC's or Vivaldi's 4 Seasons were surpassed in the 19th century (or later for that matter), that said I greatly enjoy the Mendelssohn, Brahms and Schumann VC's. The Mendelssohn is the best of the bunch in the 19th century probably. Pushing on into the 20th century Ravel's Tzigane, Bartoks VC's (especially no. 2), and the Walton VC have all made big impressions on me, the Stravinsky, and Berg aren't too shabby either, and of course there are Prokofiev's fine works. Somehow I feel as though Mozart's Violin Concertos should also be mentioned, though I haven't yet given them the close listening they deserve. 

I agree with Weston more or less on the Sibelius, I do like it, but it doesn't feel like Sibelius is quite at home in this genre to me, something doesn't quite work for me there. I prefer many of his other works to it.


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## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

I love Romantic Violin Concertos and the genre in general. Beside the pieces names above, which is I enjoy all of them, there are still large pieces of repertoire need to examined.

Vieuxtemps, they are popular also but not many heard them all. No.5 is my favorite.
Tor Aulin, from Sweden - late Romanticism
Piere Rode, early Romantic and a virtuoso. Listen to his no.7,10 and 13 since that all the Naxos disc comes about
Paganini, pieces other than his no.1 and no.3

Wolf Ferrari Violin Concerto op.26 in D
Jeno Hubay all three violin concertos
Goldmark concerto in Am

the Russians
Myaskovsky in Dm
Kabalevsky in C
Shebalin
Khachaturian in Dm, popular works.

19th movie score-like concerto
Miklos Rozsa
Willian Walton
Korngold

Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Tchaikovsky are my top four.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

No mention of Barber...?


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Oh Maxie Bruch.

I find it interesting how Bruch's first violin concerto (G minor, Op. 26) so quickly went from the most underrated to the most overplayed yet his second violin concerto (D minor, Op. 44) remains more-or-less neglected. I would even say *gasp* that I prefer it, but this may be due to over-exposure to the first. It is remarkably emotive; so tender I daresay it approached schmaltzy. But, you know, if you like the Romantic violin concerto it will likely speak to you.

I think that Bohuslav Martinů's violin concerto no. 2, H. 293 also deserves mention.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

KenOC said:


> The 19th century saw quite a few fantastic violin concertos -- among the biggies were Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Tchaikovsky...and there are others of course. Each one to me shows a different aspect of the times, of the human spirit.
> 
> How do you consider these concertos? How do you compare one to the other, not in terms of which is "best," but how do they differ? How are they similar? Thoughts?
> 
> Push forward into the 20th century if you like...


Might like to explore the violin concertos of Louis Spohr.


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Bloch and Bliss are two violin concertos that are under recorded and I think are worth hearing, as is Magnus Lindberg's 2006 concerto, recorded by Lisa Batiashvili.

It seems to me that violin concertos in the romantic era often aimed for a grand gesture and the Goldmark concerto is rather the apex of that tradition: beautiful, rich and dramatic, although maybe a little too rich for some people's liking. 20th century concertos are a little more intimate, focused on smaller ideas. Berg is a kind of turning point in that as, for all the grandness of sound, it deals with a very intimate subject. I really liked Menuhin's reading of Berg I heard recently, an approachable version for people who have tried Berg and didn't like it. The Lindberg is somewhat a return to that grand gesture type concerto, although that tendency never really went away.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

The Brahms is a great work, explosive, violent, passionate and intimate. It contrasts wonderfully with the piano concertos that feel more universal, less personal to me. It's very "human", but with humanity pushed to a limit.

Schumann is deathly icy and feverishly incinerating at the same time; like a bad case of fever, you're lying in cold sweat. It feels both personal and universal at the same time, like a person who is "gazing at eternity" or the black depths of the starry sky.

Sibelius is philosophical, I get the feeling that he's pondering and chasing some grand problem, or better, theodicy. It's like maddening whispers from your own heart.

Shostakovich gives me visual effects, I see gray cottages in the downpouring rain etc...

Beethoven I have to listen more to understand it better, and the less I say about the Mendelssohn, the Tchaikovsky and the Ligeti, the better...


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