# Violin concertos of the past 50 years



## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

What are your favourite/best/significant violin concertos written in the past 50 years?

Looking at results from my A la carte polls, the six works that got the highest percentage of likes were:
Shostakovich 2
Ligeti
Adès ('Concentric Paths')
Chin
Adams
Glass 1

Also voted for, in descending order, were Salonen, Vasks, Penderecki 1, Schnittke 4, Feldman's _Violin and Orchestra_ (though is this, strictly speaking, a violin concerto?), Rautavaara, Haas, Higdon, Pettersson 2, and Tsontakis 2 (2 people out of 45 liked it!). So obviously it's a very incomplete list.

What else should/could we be listening to?


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I can recommend the Lindberg; very engaging. Premiered in 2006. I like it more with every listen. Excellent performance too.


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## Sina (Aug 3, 2012)

Hans Werner Henze's second concerto, for violin, bass-baritone, 33 instruments & tape (1971)
Sofia Gubaidulina's first concerto "Offertorium" (1980), and second "In Tempus Praesens" (2007)
Per Nørgård's first concerto "Helle Nacht" (1987)
Brian Ferneyhough's Terrain, for solo violin & ensemble (1992) (if it counts)
Bent Sørensen's concerto "Sterbende Gärten" (1992-93)
Karl Aage Rasmussen's concerto "Sinking Through the Dream Mirror" (1993)
Kaija Saariaho's Graal Théâtre (1994)
Somei Satoh's concerto (2002)

All of which are well recorded and released.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Elliot Carter's violin concerto is the first thing that came to my mind.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

Hilary Hahn commissioned a violin concerto from the American composer/bassist Edgar Meyer in the late 90's, and then premiered it and eventually recorded it with Hugh Wolff and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. It's very accessible; a charming little piece - maybe not a _great_ violin concerto, but quite fun to listen to nevertheless, and I find myself returning to it every now and then. Besides, it is coupled with a marvelous Barber concerto performance on the CD...


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Just to remember that Adams wrote two violin concertos -- his 1993 work and _The Dharma at Big Sur _for electric violin and orchestra in 2003, which may be the more striking work of the two.

He has recently written Scheherazade.2, described as a "dramatic symphony for violin and orchestra". Not sure if that's a concerto, but it surely took some nerve to name it that!


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Bill Alves: Concerto for Violin and American Gamelan (2008) - does this count? Very nice, refreshing music. (There was a work by Lou Harrison for the same instrumentation, but it was called "suite".)

Gavin Bryars: Violin Concerto (“The Bulls of Bashan”) (2000) - a melancholic, beautiful piece.

Akira Nishimura: Violin Concerto No. 1 "After Glow" (1998) - a lot of dissonance, but quite impressive.

I remember enjoying violin concertos by Boris Tchaikovsky (1969), George Tsontakis (no. 2, 2003), and Glass (no. 2, 2009).


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## Rosie (Jul 4, 2016)

I unfortunately don't know any violin Concertos from the past 50 years so maybe this site can help me!!!


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

KenOC said:


> He has recently written Scheherazade.2, described as a "dramatic symphony for violin and orchestra". Not sure if that's a concerto, but it surely took some nerve to name it that!


Definitely a concerto. The not-so-subtle self-reference: http://www.talkclassical.com/5564-latest-concerts-60.html#post1040438


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Avey said:


> Definitely a concerto. The not-so-subtle self-reference: http://www.talkclassical.com/5564-latest-concerts-60.html#post1040438


Avey, thanks for the reference. Now *that* is a review and a half!


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Just to remember that Adams wrote two violin concertos -- his 1993 work and _The Dharma at Big Sur _for electric violin and orchestra in 2003, which may be the more striking work of the two.


Of course... I'd just alphabetised my list of works and was looking at anything called "Violin concerto..." so I missed that. FWIW, _The Dharma at Big Sur_ is between Salonen and Vasks in terms of "likes".


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

Let's see... violin concertos 1966 and later:

John Adams
Corigliano - The Red Violin
Dutilleux - L'Arbre des songes
Gubaidulina - Offertorium
Jolivet
Leyendecker
Ligeti
Lutosławski - Chain 2; Partita
Rihm - Gesungene Zeit
Schnittke - Nos 2-4 (take your pick!)
Shostakovich No 2
Tischchenko No 2
Vasks


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2016)

+1 for Tischchenko No.2 and Corigliano, to which I'd like to add Gubaidulina's ‘In Tempus Praesens'.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

No love for Penderecki's Violin Concerto 2 "Metamorphosen"?

I think it is brilliant.


Anne Akiko Meyers commissioned a concerto from American composer, Mason Bates, that is quite playful, yet very interesting and absorbing.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Simon Moon said:


> No love for Penderecki's Violin Concerto 2 "Metamorphosen"?
> 
> I think it is brilliant.


Haven't listened to it in many years. Some others I need to listen to as well. Carter, Lindberg, Salonen. I'd have to say Ligeti, Gubaidulina, Norgard's 1st, and Henze's 2nd are my favorites.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)




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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Rihm, Currier & Eotvos haven't been mentioned yet


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^
The Mutter CD is outstanding! Haven't heard the other one.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Berio, Carter, Unsuk Chin, Dutilleux, Gubaidulina, Knussen, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Maderna, Krzysztof Meyer, Norgard, Penderecki, Schnittke, Shostakovich.


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## Sina (Aug 3, 2012)

Also, not my top favorite, but neglected is Dox-Orkh for violin & 89 musicians (1991) by Xenakis.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

John Williams composed two Violin Concertos One is called Treesong.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I only know for certain I've heard the Ligeti, Thomas Ades, Unsuk Chin and Gubadaibalianina or whomever, and of the four I only remember parts of the latter because of the Bach theme. :-/

I do remember being impressed by the Ades and Chin concertos, obviously for very different reasons, but I can't really remember their overall vibe. Maybe I recall the Chin seemed a bit violent, but it has long since been overshadowed by her work entitled "Xi" which is awesome.

I wonder if Saariaho has written a violin concerto. Now that would be something! Perhaps "Graal theatre" for violin and orchestra qualifies? [Edit: Never mind. Sina has mentioned it already, so I'll take that as a yes.] I have it in a boxed set but haven't heard it yet. Not enough time, and I want to savor Saariaho. Her work, I mean!


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## vlncto (Nov 26, 2012)

In the case of name-dropping here I would like to mention the "other 3000 violin concertos" from the past 50 years that one can find in my encyclopedia "The 20th century violin concertante". Can be downloaded for free from my website:

http://www.tobias-broeker.de/download-ebook/

My recommendations for the past 50 years are - surprise, surprise - on my recommendations site:

http://www.tobias-broeker.de/recommendations/

Best,
Tobias


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

William Bolcom's is great.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

My votes for the Carter, Lutoslawski, Shostakovich 2, Ligeti, Schnittke 4 and Gubaidulina works already mentioned. I would add Pettersson's 2 (a gateway to his astonishing music) and the Ades concerto. I do also enjoy the Lindberg and the Glass. I am not sure that the last 50 years makes a good natural period in music history but it works as a snapshot of how varied and rich music has become.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

tortkis said:


> Bill Alves: Concerto for Violin and American Gamelan (2008) - does this count? Very nice, refreshing music. (There was a work by Lou Harrison for the same instrumentation, but it was called "suite".)
> 
> Gavin Bryars: Violin Concerto ("The Bulls of Bashan") (2000) - a melancholic, beautiful piece.
> 
> ...


I commissioned the Gavin Bryars concerto.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Delicious Manager said:


> I commissioned the Gavin Bryars concerto.


That is great. You premiered the work? The music is very moving.


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## JosefinaHW (Nov 21, 2015)

vlncto said:


> In the case of name-dropping here I would like to mention the "other 3000 violin concertos" from the past 50 years that one can find in my encyclopedia "The 20th century violin concertante". Can be downloaded for free from my website:
> 
> http://www.tobias-broeker.de/download-ebook/
> 
> ...


:Vincto: What is the address of your score library? I see the list of scores that it contains but no link to it.


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## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

George Rochberg wrote on in 1974. I have it and like it.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

tortkis said:


> That is great. You premiered the work? The music is very moving.


No, I commissioned it for the orchestra I then worked for. I'm a manager, not a performer. I also commissioned his piece for string orchestra _The Porazzi Fragment_.


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## vlncto (Nov 26, 2012)

Hello JosefinaHW: As most of the listed scores in my library are still under copyright, I cannot give access to them. But I am in the process of providing access to unpublished violin concertos which are in public domain or where I could get the permission from the actual copyright holders. These scores are in pdf-format and can be downloaded for free. A good starting point would be:

http://www.tobias-broeker.de/rare-manuscripts/violin-concertos/

Thanks for your interest!

Best,
Tobias


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