Beethoven Violin Concerto

Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.

The work was premiered on December 23, 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, who had earlier given him helpful advice on his opera Fidelio. The occasion was a benefit concert for Clement. However, the first printed edition (1808) was dedicated to Beethoven’s friend Stephan von Breuning.

It is believed that Beethoven finished the solo part so late that Clement had to sight-read part of his performance.[1] Perhaps to express his annoyance, or to show what he could do when he had time to prepare, Clement interrupted the concerto between the first and second movements with a solo composition of his own, played on one string of the violin held upside down.[2]

The premiere was not a success, and the concerto was little performed in the following decades.

The work was revived in 1844, well after Beethoven's death, with performances by the then 13-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim with the orchestra led by Felix Mendelssohn. Ever since, it has been one of the most important works of the violin concerto repertoire, and it is frequently performed and recorded today.

Structure

The work is in three movements:

Allegro ma non troppo (D major)
Larghetto (G major)
Rondo. Allegro (D major)
It is scored, in addition to the solo violin, for single flute, and pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and timpani along with strings. Cadenzas for the work have been written by several notable violinists, including Joachim. The cadenzas by Fritz Kreisler are probably most often employed. More recently, composer Alfred Schnittke provided controversial cadenzas with a characteristically 20th century flavor; violinist Gidon Kremer has recorded the concerto with the Schnittke cadenzas.

The first movement is unusual in that it starts with four beats on the timpani as the opening notes, and it has an extremely long duration of about 25 minutes.

An arrangement of the work as a piano concerto exists as opus 61a, although it is uncertain[3] whether the task was undertaken by Beethoven. There is evidence, however, to suggest that it was completed by a contemporary who was left some instruction by the composer to the manner in which to arrange the solo line[4]. Regardless, Beethoven did write his own cadenzas for the arrangement which unusually feature the timpani as well as the solo instrument, possibly a reference to the opening timpani motif. These were later arranged for the violin by the 20th century violinists Max Rostal and Wolfgang Schneiderhan.
 
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