Violin Concerto (Beethoven)

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Notice of the world premiere in the Theater an der Wien
Notice slip, transfer

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven is Beethoven's only completed concerto of this genre.

Work history

Beethoven composed the work for his friend, violin virtuoso Franz Clement (1780–1842), who premiered it on December 23, 1806 in one of his concerts at the Theater an der Wien . The Viennese critic Möser wrote about it in the Theater-Zeitung :

“The excellent violin player Klement played among other excellent pieces, including a violin concerto by Beethhofen, which was received with exceptional acclaim because of its originality and various beautiful passages. One received especially Klement's proven art and grace, his strength and security on the violin, which is his slave, with noisy bravo. The educated world noticed how Klement was able to degrade himself to some quibbles and antics, for example in order to amuse the mob, since he was able to express beauty and grandeur in every first production. We are not against this opinion. The judgment of those in the know about Beethhofen’s concert is undivided; it admits to it some beauty, but admits that the connection often seems quite torn, and that the infinite repetitions of some common passages could easily tire. It says that Beethhoven should make better use of his recognized great talents and give us works resembling his first symphonies in C and D , his graceful septet from E- flat, the witty quintet from D major, and several of his earlier compositions that made him will always be ranked among the first composers. At the same time, one feared, however, that if Beethhofen continued on this path, he and the public would end up badly. The music could as soon as come to the point where anyone who is not exactly familiar with the rules and difficulties of art finds absolutely no enjoyment in it, but rather through a multitude of incoherent and overflowing ideas and a constant tumult of some of the instruments that characterize the entrance should only leave the concert with an uncomfortable feeling of exhaustion when pressed to the ground. The audience in general liked this concert and Clement's fantasies very much. "

The Beethoven biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer reports "that Clement played his solo a vista (Italian, German: to play from the sight ) without prior rehearsal ." The first edition appeared in the Vienna Bureau des arts et d'industrie and became Stephan von Breuning dedicated. Beethoven dedicated the version for piano published by the same publisher to Breuning's wife Julie von Vering (1791–1809).

Description of the work

sentences
  1. Allegro ma non troppo
  2. Larghetto-attacca
  3. Rondo (Allegro)

The first movement corresponds to the sonata form . Four soft bangs, followed by the introduction of the main theme by the woodwinds, introduce the movement, whose song-like, yet majestic main theme exudes a lyrical mood. The timpani motif recurs in several places in the movement. The solo violin only begins after the two main themes have been presented and an orchestral passage of around three minutes.

The interpretation of the timpani motif has been a lively discussion topic since Beethoven's death. Robin Stowell points out in his monograph that the first movement reflects the spirit of optimism of the French Revolution , and Beethoven's student Carl Czerny (1791–1857) gives 126 as the metronome for the quarters, i.e. H. a rapid marching pace . The melody should then be thought of in halves. This interpretation is confirmed by Beethoven's cadenza for the piano version, where military-style trumpet signals and a marching motif appear alongside the drum motif. The earliest recordings of the Beethoven Concerto by Wolfsthal (1929) and Huberman (1934) came close to the tempo specified by Czerny, while later performers preferred quieter tempos, such as Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerow .

The third movement, with its 6/8 theme, is reminiscent of a hunting theme that is later processed in a virtuoso cadence.

effect

The work is considered a prototype of its genre and has significantly influenced its development. If the premiere was still a small success, the concert was rarely performed in the following decades. For most violinists, the work was too difficult with too little virtuoso brilliance.

It was not until 1844, 17 years after Beethoven's death, that a breakthrough came when the then 12-year-old Joseph Joachim performed the concert as a soloist with a London orchestra under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . Since then it has been one of the most important works in concert literature for violin.

Beethoven also transcribed this concerto for piano (op.61a). However, the piano version does not achieve the quality of the violin concerto, which is why some suspect that the transcription did not come from the master himself, but was given to one of his students (see also: Sonata for violin and piano in D major, op. 77). The Russian conductor and pianist Michail Wassiljewitsch Pletnjow arranged this concerto for clarinet and orchestra. This version was recorded in 1997 with Michael Collins as soloist. There is also a transcription for flute, listed e.g. B. by Karl-Heinz Schütz 2014 in Tel Aviv.

Recordings

( US Marine Chamber Orchestra )

I. allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo, allegro

Others

The 2nd topic from the 1st movement of the concert was used for the acoustic transmitter identification of the ZDF .

From another violin concerto in C major, WoO 5, only a fragment of the first movement remained. However, there are supplemented versions by Hellmesberger and other composers.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Theater-Zeitung , Vienna, Vol. 2, No. 2 of January 8, 1807, p. 27 (digitized version)
  2. ↑ Alexander Wheelock Thayer, Ludwig van Beethovens Leben , Volume 2, Leipzig 1917, p. 538
  3. ^ Beethoven - Violin Concerto - Free Sheet Music Riff . On: 8notes.com
  4. ↑ Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op. 61 Capriccio - Forum for Classical Music
  5. ↑ Otto Biba , Beethoven's Violin Concerto Fragment, in the introduction to the CD Beethoven, Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra , Naive 2009, V5174