1st violin concerto (Bruch)
The 1st Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 26 is a violin concerto by the composer and conductor Max Bruch . It is one of the few of his works that is still performed regularly today. The composer from Cologne, who was viewed similarly to Johannes Brahms during his lifetime , but quickly lost reputation and presence after his death, succeeded in creating a world-class violin concerto.
Emergence
The work was written between 1866 and 1868. It was dedicated to the famous violinist Joseph Joachim , who was also the soloist of the premiere. He had previously advised Bruch on the design of the solo part. The concert offers the soloist the opportunity to demonstrate virtuosity in some places . A first version of the work was completed for the Niederrheinischer Musikfest in 1866, the second and currently valid version was completed by Bruch in 1868.
To the music
1st movement: Introduction, Allegro moderato
The first movement, which Bruch calls the prelude , has a strongly rhapsodic character. It opens with a pianissimo drum roll . This is followed by the main lyrical theme, initially presented by the woodwinds . The solo violin then begins to work on the topic and perform some improvisations . A short orchestral tremolo is followed by the first actual solo part of the violin. After a while, Bruch introduces a B flat major sub-theme into the movement. This is followed by a short, execution-like part that introduces the climax of the movement. This consists of a leading orchestra tutti (Un poco piu vivo) . The recapitulation brings an interplay of solo violin and orchestra in which the theme is slightly changed. The orchestra now leads directly to the second movement.
2nd movement: Adagio
The lyric Adagio is the central movement of the work. The highly sensitive and intimate sentence is based on a romance. It begins directly with the main vocal and elegiac theme. The solo violin develops a lyrical cantilever playing with soft orchestral accompaniment. Here Bruch's melodic scope for invention becomes particularly clear. The sensitive movement slowly rises above the melodic and likewise lyrical-elegiac side thoughts. In the middle of the movement there is a change to G flat major. This slight musical shift causes a change in the sound. With further dynamic increases, the sound is finally developed into a bright E flat major. The dreamy main theme sounds one last time before the moving movement slowly fades away.
3rd movement: Finale, Allegro energico
The finale is of a dance-like character and is mostly in G major. The orchestral introduction introduces the passionate and popular main theme. The rhythmic core idea of the movement is gradually developed and finally shines in fortissimo . The soloist has to cope with this theme with often demanding double fingering. As the movement progresses, the solo violin plays around and varies the main theme. A festive and compact side theme is also introduced by the violin. The majestic-looking movement concludes with a virtuoso Presto- Stretta , performed by the orchestra and the soloist.
effect
The (probably no longer preserved) first version of the violin concerto was premiered on April 24, 1866 under the direction of the composer with Otto von Königslöw as soloist in Koblenz . On the advice of Hermann Levi , Bruch worked with Joseph Joachim on a revised version, in particular changing the two corner clauses. With Joachim as the soloist, this version was played for the first time on January 5, 1868 under the direction of Carl Martin Reinthaler in Bremen . Another performance with him took place in 1868 at the Lower Rhine Music Festival on Whitsun in 1868 in Cologne. Bruch's first violin concerto has a similar status as the violin concertos by Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . The expressive melody, the beautiful sound and the clear structure of the work are the reasons for its continued popularity with soloists and listeners. Initially, Max Bruch was delighted with the success of his first concert. Over time, however, this success became a burden, as all of the public's attention was now focused on the first violin concerto and the rest of Bruch's music, including the second and third violin concerto , was neglected. Bruch wrote to his publisher:
“Nothing is like the indolence, stupidity, and dullness of many German violinists. Every two weeks someone comes and wants to play the first concert for me: I've already become rude and have said to you: 'I can no longer hear this concert - have I only written this one concert? Go there and finally play the other concerts, which are just as, if not better! '"
In 1893 he even wrote a Xenie calling for the concert to be banned:
"Since the astonishing fact has occurred recently / That the violins played the first concert by themselves / Let us make it known as soon as possible to calm anxious souls / That we are hereby seriously forbidding the said concert."
In 1911, because he needed money, Bruch decided to sell the original manuscript of the violin concerto. Attempts to purchase it by the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe and an American group that wanted to donate the manuscript to the National Library in Washington failed. In April 1920, shortly before Bruch's death, he gave the score to the sisters Ottilie and Rose Sutro, who were supposed to sell it in the USA and send the proceeds to Bruch, who was in good use due to the inflation after the First World War . In December 1920 - Bruch had since died - his children Ewald and Margarethe received the proceeds from an unknown source in worthless German paper rags. The whereabouts of the score remained unknown, and the Sutro sisters harshly refused to give any information. Later, Ewald and Margarethe Bruch were able to find a German-American music publisher who had sold the score shortly before; however, the buyer had made his anonymity a condition. In the meantime, the riddle about the score has been resolved. The Sutro sisters had sold this to the New York dealer Walter Schatzki in 1949 , who bought it on behalf of Mary Flagler Cary. After her death in 1967, her collection, including the score, was donated to the Mary Flagler Cary Collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library .
literature
- Christopher Fifield: Max Bruch - Biography of a Composer , Swiss publishing house, 1990 Zurich, ISBN 3-7263-6616-4 , pp. 58–73
- Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (eds.), Bertelsmann Konzertführer , Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-570-10519-9 , p. 101
- Harenberg Konzertführer , Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5 , p. 175f.
Web links
- 1st Violin Concerto (Bruch) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ↑ Uwe Baur: Towards Perfection: New Findings on the Origin of the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch. In: Peter Larsen (Ed.): Max Bruch in Sondershausen (1867-1870). Göttingen 2004, pp. 137-212.
- ↑ Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (ed.), Bertelsmann Konzertführer , Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-570-10519-9 , p. 101
- ↑ Christopher Fifield: Max Bruch - Biography of a Composer , Swiss publishing house, 1990 Zurich, ISBN 3-7263-6616-4 , pp. 70f.