Rachel Barton Pine: Joseph Joachim Violin Concerto 2, Chicago Symphony

Labels: , , ,

Joseph Joachim Violin Concerto No 2 "In The Hungarian Style" Op 11
Performed by Rachel Barton. Conducted by Carlos Kalmar with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Rachel Barton
 Rachel Barton
I. Allegro un poco maestoso
II. Romanze - Andante
III. Finale alla Zingara: Allegro con spirito

Joachim wrote his Violin Concerto in D minor in the Hungarian Style, Op. 11, in 1857. It was published in Leipzig in 1861, the year in which Joachim made his first return to Vienna after his earlier studies there, and was included in the five concerts he gave at the Musikvereinsaal, with a repertoire that included Beethoven's Violin Concerto and the Romances, his version of Tartini's Devil's Trill Sonata, Schumann's Fantasy, Op. 131, and works by Bach and by Spohr. The critic Eduard Hanslick recorded Joachim as having been for some ten years the greatest living violinist. His review of the Concerto in the Hungarian Style was more guarded, describing it as too expansive, complicated and striking in its virtuosity to be evaluated at a first hearing.

Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
The first movement starts with a conventional orchestral exposition and a principal theme of Hungarian inflection. To this a second theme offers a contrast. The entry of the soloist leads to technical display before the first theme is stated again, to be elaborated before the soloist introduces a version of the second theme. The development and recapitulation both call for virtuosity, further displayed in the cadenza, partly accompanied. The second movement is a G major Romanze, its lyrical first theme contrasted with a more aggressive secondary theme. The movement ends with reminiscences of the first theme, with its characteristically Hungarian ending. The Finale alla zingara is an opportunity for assumed gypsy abandon, with themes suited to the prevailing mood and the greatest demands on the technique and stamina of the soloist.

Discover