Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Romances Nos. 1 And 2

Description

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)Violin Concerto in D Op. 61 (Cadenzas byKreisler) Romances Opp. 40 & 50Ludwig van Beethoven, named after hisillustrious grandfather, Kapellmeister to the Archbishop Elector of Cologne,was born in Bonn in 1770, the son of a singer employed by the Archbishop.Beethoven's father was to prove inadequate paternally and professionally,although he saw to it that his son was trained, in one way and another, toassume his due position in the archiepiscopal Kapelle. It was with theencouragement of the Archbishop, a younger son of the Empress Maria Theresia,that the young musician made his way to Vienna in 1792, armed withintroductions to the leading aristocratic amateurs of the day. He was to remainin Vienna for the rest of his life, at first establishing a reputation as apianist and composer and later, after increasing deafness had barred him fromperformance and, to a large extent, from society, as a genius of known andtolerated eccentricity, a giant among composers.Beethoven's Violin Concerto in Dmajor, Opus 61, his only completed concerto for the instrument, was writtenin 1806 and at first dedicated to Franz Clement, the principal violinist andconductor at the Theater an der Wien, who gave the first performance of thework, adding a further item of variations played with the violin upside down,an unusual testimony to his technical proficiency. A later edition of theconcerto carried a dedication to Beethoven's friend Stephan von Breuning.The concerto was well enough received inVienna, although some complained of the excessive length of the first movement,one critic writing of the endless repetition of unimportant passages, which healleged produced a tiring effect. It was not until 1844 that the work became partof the standard repertoire, when it was performed by Brahms's friend Joachim inLondon, with the orchestra conducted by Mendelssohn. Since then it has become afavourite with audiences and players, its position unassailable.Beethoven, with more than usualassistance from a copyist, transcribed the Violin Concerto for piano andorchestra, adding cadenzas, the whole undertaken in response to a commissionfrom the pianist and composer Clementi in London. Although Beethoven's pianocadenzas have been transcribed for violin, it is usual for soloists to prefercadenzas from other sources better suited to a string instrument.The first movement of the concerto openswith five ominous drum-beats, in a long exposition, goes on to introduce theprincipal material of the movement, leading to a treacherously exposed openingoctave arpeggio for the soloist. The movement, in all its beauty and variety,continues in broadly classical form.The Larghetto allows the violinist anaccompanying role, before he finally comes into his own with a fine, singingmelody, later to be embellished, before the weighty chords that introduce thefinal Rondo. Here the soloist introduces the first and principal melody,playing on the lowest string of the violin. An ep