Violin Concerto No. 1 (Bruch)
Encyclopedia
Max Bruch
's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, is one of the most popular violin concerto
s in the repertoire. It continues to be performed and recorded by many violinists and is arguably Bruch's most famous composition.
and completed in its present form in 1867. The première of the revised concerto was given by Joachim in Bremen
on 5 January 1868 with Karl Martin Rheinthaler conducting.
, he was destitute, having been unable to enforce the payment of royalties for his other works due to chaotic world-wide economic conditions. He sent his autograph to the duo-pianists Rose and Ottilie Sutro
(for whom he had written his Concerto in A flat minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra
, Op. 88a, in 1912), so that they could sell it in the United States and send him the money. Bruch died in October 1920, without ever receiving any money. The Sutro sisters decided to keep the score themselves, but they claimed to have sold it, and sent Bruch's family some worthless German paper money as the alleged proceeds of the alleged sale. They always refused to divulge any details of the supposed purchaser. In 1949, they sold the autograph to Mary Flagler Cary
, whose collection, including the Bruch concerto, now resides at the Pierpont Morgan Public Library in New York
.
s, two oboe
s, two clarinet
s, two bassoon
s, four horn
s, two trumpet
s, timpani
, and strings
.
:
The first movement is unusual in that it is a Vorspiel, a prelude
, to the second movement and is directly linked to it. The impression it gives towards listeners is almost like a smooth army march
, yet an anticipatory feeling prevails throughout. The piece starts off slowly, with the melody first taken by the flute
s, and then the solo violin becomes audible with a short cadenza
. This repeats again, serving as an introduction to the main portion of the movement, which contains a strong first theme and a very melodic, and generally slower, second theme. The movement ends as it began, with the two short cadenzas more virtuosic than before, and the orchestra's final tutti
flows into the second movement, connected by a single low note from the first violins.
The slow second movement
is often adored for its powerful melody, and is generally considered to be the heart of the concerto. The rich, expansive themes, presented by the violin, are underscored by a constantly moving orchestra part, keeping the movement alive and helping it flow from one part to the next.
The third movement, the finale, opens with an extremely intense, yet quiet, orchestral introduction that yields to the soloist's statement of the exuberant theme in brilliant double stops. It is very much like a dance that moves at a comfortably fast and energetic tempo. The second subject is a fine example of Romantic
lyricism, a slower melody which cuts into the movement several times, before the dance theme returns with its fireworks. The piece ends with a huge accelerando, leading to a fiery finish that gets higher as it gets faster and louder and eventually concludes with two short, yet grand, chords.
Bruch also composed two more violin concertos, but neither is as well known as his first.
Max Bruch
Max Christian Friedrich Bruch , also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.-Life:Bruch was born in Cologne, Rhine Province, where he...
's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, is one of the most popular violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
s in the repertoire. It continues to be performed and recorded by many violinists and is arguably Bruch's most famous composition.
History
The concerto was first completed in 1866 and the first performance was given on 24 April 1866 by Otto von Königslow with Bruch himself conducting. The concerto was then considerably revised with help from celebrated violinist Joseph JoachimJoseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
and completed in its present form in 1867. The première of the revised concerto was given by Joachim in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
on 5 January 1868 with Karl Martin Rheinthaler conducting.
The fate of the score
Bruch sold the score to the publisher Simrock outright for a small lump sum - but he kept a copy of his own. At the end of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was destitute, having been unable to enforce the payment of royalties for his other works due to chaotic world-wide economic conditions. He sent his autograph to the duo-pianists Rose and Ottilie Sutro
Rose and Ottilie Sutro
Rose Sutro and Ottilie Sutro were American sisters who were notable as one of the first recognised duo-piano teams. It has been claimed they were the first such team, but Willi and Louis Thern preceded them by almost 30 years...
(for whom he had written his Concerto in A flat minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Bruch)
The Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 88a, was written by Max Bruch in 1912. It is in 4 movements, written in the rarely seen key of A flat minor, and takes about 25 minutes to perform....
, Op. 88a, in 1912), so that they could sell it in the United States and send him the money. Bruch died in October 1920, without ever receiving any money. The Sutro sisters decided to keep the score themselves, but they claimed to have sold it, and sent Bruch's family some worthless German paper money as the alleged proceeds of the alleged sale. They always refused to divulge any details of the supposed purchaser. In 1949, they sold the autograph to Mary Flagler Cary
Mary Flagler Cary
Mary Flagler Cary was heir to part of the Standard Oil fortune and became a notable philanthropist, mainly through the charitable trust established at her death...
, whose collection, including the Bruch concerto, now resides at the Pierpont Morgan Public Library in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for solo violin and a standard classical orchestra consisting of two fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, four horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.
Movements
The concerto is in three movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- VorspielPrelude (music)A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
: Allegro moderato - Adagio
- Finale: Allegro energico
The first movement is unusual in that it is a Vorspiel, a prelude
Prelude (music)
A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
, to the second movement and is directly linked to it. The impression it gives towards listeners is almost like a smooth army march
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
, yet an anticipatory feeling prevails throughout. The piece starts off slowly, with the melody first taken by the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, and then the solo violin becomes audible with a short cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
. This repeats again, serving as an introduction to the main portion of the movement, which contains a strong first theme and a very melodic, and generally slower, second theme. The movement ends as it began, with the two short cadenzas more virtuosic than before, and the orchestra's final tutti
Tutti
Tutti is an Italian word literally meaning all or together and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist...
flows into the second movement, connected by a single low note from the first violins.
The slow second movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
is often adored for its powerful melody, and is generally considered to be the heart of the concerto. The rich, expansive themes, presented by the violin, are underscored by a constantly moving orchestra part, keeping the movement alive and helping it flow from one part to the next.
The third movement, the finale, opens with an extremely intense, yet quiet, orchestral introduction that yields to the soloist's statement of the exuberant theme in brilliant double stops. It is very much like a dance that moves at a comfortably fast and energetic tempo. The second subject is a fine example of Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
lyricism, a slower melody which cuts into the movement several times, before the dance theme returns with its fireworks. The piece ends with a huge accelerando, leading to a fiery finish that gets higher as it gets faster and louder and eventually concludes with two short, yet grand, chords.
Bruch also composed two more violin concertos, but neither is as well known as his first.
Video Example
- Bruch Violin Concerto played by Ida HaendelIda HaendelIda Haendel, CBE is a British violinist of Polish birth.- Career :Ida Haendel was born in Chełm, a small city in Eastern Poland. She took up the violin at the age of three and as a seven-year-old was admitted at the Warsaw Conservatory. She later studied with Carl Flesch and George Enescu in Paris...
: Movement 1, Movement 2, Movement 3. 2005 recording with orchestra conducted by Igor GruppmanIgor GruppmanIgor Gruppman is an American violinist and conductor. He is the Principal Conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, a position he has held since 2003. In May of 2009, Igor Gruppman was appointed by Valery Gergiev to the position of Music Director of the newly formed...
.