Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
's Violin Concerto in
E minor,
Op. 64, is his last
concerto. Well received at its premiere, it has remained among the most prominent and highly-regarded
violin concertos. It holds a central place in the
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
repertoire and has developed a reputation as an essential concerto for all aspiring concert violinists to master, and usually one of the first
Romantic era
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
concertos they learn.
[Mendelssohn, F. ''Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64'', Dover Miniature Scores (1999)] A typical performance lasts just under half an hour.
Mendelssohn originally proposed the idea of the violin concerto to
Ferdinand David, a close friend and then
concertmaster of the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Although conceived in 1838, the work took another six years to complete and was not
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
d until 1845. During this time, Mendelssohn maintained a regular correspondence with David, who gave him many suggestions. The work itself was one of the foremost violin concertos of the Romantic era and was influential on many other composers.
Although the concerto consists of three
movements in a standard fast–slow–fast structure and each movement follows a traditional
form
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form also refers to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
* ...
, it was innovative and included many novel features for its time. Distinctive aspects include the almost immediate entrance of the violin at the beginning of the work (rather than following an orchestral preview of the first movement's major themes, as was typical in
Classical-era concertos) and the
through-composed form of the concerto as a whole, in which the three movements are melodically and harmonically connected and played
attacca
A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...
(each movement immediately following the previous one without any pauses).
Many violinists have recorded the concerto and it is performed in concerts and
classical music competitions. It was recorded by
Nathan Milstein
Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist.
Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...
and the
New York Philharmonic as
an album and released as the first
LP record
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; an ...
upon the format's introduction in 1948.
History
Following his appointment in 1835 as principal
conductor of the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,
[Mercer-Taylor, P. J. '' The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn'', CUP (2004)] Mendelssohn named his childhood friend
Ferdinand David as the orchestra's
concertmaster.
["Ferdinand David", '']The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'', Vol. 47, No. 761 The work's origins derive from this professional collaboration. In a letter dated 30 July 1838, Mendelssohn wrote to David: "I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor runs through my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace."
[Dr. Rietz, J. ''Letters of Felix Mendelssohn, 1833–1847'', Ayer (1970)]
The concerto took another six years to complete. There are many possible reasons for the delay, including self-doubt,
his
third symphony and an unhappy period in Berlin after a request from King
Frederick William IV of Prussia.
[Jacobson, J. H. ''The Classical Music Experience'', Sourcebooks, Inc. (2002)] Nevertheless, Mendelssohn and David kept up a regular correspondence during this time,
with Mendelssohn seeking technical and compositional advice. Indeed, this violin concerto was the first of many to have been composed with the input of a professional violinist, and would influence many future collaborations.
[ Steinberg, Michael. ''The Concerto: A Listener's Guide'', OUP (1998)] The
autograph score is dated 16 September 1844, but Mendelssohn was still seeking advice from David until its premiere.
The concerto was first performed in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
on 13 March 1845 with Ferdinand David as soloist. Mendelssohn was unable to conduct due to illness and the premiere was conducted by the Danish composer
Niels Gade
Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day.
Biography
Gade was bor ...
.
Mendelssohn first conducted the concerto on 23 October 1845 again with Ferdinand David as soloist.
An autograph manuscript of the concerto re-emerged in 1989 in the
Biblioteka Jagiellonska in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
, leading to some scholarly scepticism of the veracity of
Breitkopf & Härtel's 1862 edition of the published score. Some notable differences include the tempo character of the first movement being written as "''Allegro con fuoco''" rather than the commonplace "''Allegro molto appassionato''" as well as significant alterations of the solo violin's passage-work.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for solo violin and a standard orchestra of its period, consisting of two
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...
s, two
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, two
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...
s, two
bassoons, two
horns, two
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
, and
strings.
Movements
The concerto consists of three movements with the following
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
markings:
#
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
molto appassionato (
E minor)
# Andante (
C major)
# Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace (
E major)
Allegro molto appassionato
''12–14 minutes''
\relative c
Instead of an orchestral
tutti, the concerto opens with the almost immediate entry of the solo violin, playing the very tune in
E minor that gave Mendelssohn no peace.
Following a
bravura of rapidly ascending notes, the opening theme is then restated by the orchestra.
There is then a frenetic
chromatic transition passage
as the music subsides and
modulates into a tranquil second subject theme in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable com ...
.
[Stowell R. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Violin'', CUP (1992)] The melody is initially played by the woodwinds with the soloist providing a
pedal note on an
open G string.
[Kerman, J. ''Concerto Conversations'', HUP (1999)] The tune is played by the solo violin itself before a short
codetta ends the
exposition section of the opening movement. The opening two themes are then combined in the
development section, where the music builds up to the innovative
cadenza
In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and of ...
, which Mendelssohn wrote out in full rather than allowing the soloist to improvise.
The cadenza builds up speed through rhythmic shifts from
quavers to
quaver-triplets and finally to
semiquavers,
which require ricochet bowing from the soloist.
[Mendelssohn, F. ''Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64'', Bärenreiter (2005)] This serves as a link to the
recapitulation, where the opening melody is played by the orchestra, accompanied by the continuing ricochet arpeggios by the soloist. During the recapitulation, the opening themes are repeated with the second theme being played in the E major before returning to E minor for the closing of the movement. The music gathers speed into the coda, which is marked "Presto",
before a variant of the original chromatic transition passage ends the first movement.
Andante
''7–9 minutes''
\relative c''
The bassoon sustains its B from the final chord of the first movement before moving up a
semitone to
middle C.
This serves as a key change from the E minor opening movement into the lyrical
C major slow movement. The movement is in
ternary form
Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...
and is reminiscent of Mendelssohn's own ''
Songs Without Words
''Songs Without Words'' (') is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.
Music
The ...
''.
The theme to the darker, middle section in
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
:
Changes ...
is first introduced by the orchestra before the violin then takes up both the melody and the accompaniment simultaneously. The
tremulous accompaniment
requires nimble dexterity from the soloist before the music returns to the main lyrical C major theme, this time leading towards a serene conclusion.
Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace
''6–7 minutes''
\relative c''
Following the second movement, there is a brief fourteen-bar transitional passage in E minor for solo violin and strings only.
This leads into the lively and effervescent finale, the whole of which is in E major and whose opening is marked by a
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
fanfare.
This movement is in
sonata rondo form with an opening theme requiring fast passage work from the soloist. The opening exposition leads into a brief second
B major theme which is played by the soloist and builds to a series of rapidly ascending and descending arpeggios, reminiscent of the cadenza from the first movement. The orchestra then plays a variation of the opening melody, after which the music moves into a short development section in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable com ...
.
The recapitulation is essentially similar to the exposition, apart from the addition of a
counter-melody in the strings. The second theme is repeated, this time in the home key of E Major. There is almost a small cadenza near the end of the movement when the woodwinds play the main tune against prolonged trills from the solo violin.
The concerto then concludes with a frenetic coda.
Analysis
The concerto is innovative in many respects. In the first movement alone, Mendelssohn departs from the typical form of a Classical concerto in many ways, the most immediate being the entry of the soloist almost from the outset, which also occurs in his
First Piano Concerto.
Although the first movement is mostly in the conventional
sonata form, Mendelssohn has the first theme played by the solo violin and then by the orchestra. Classical concertos typically opened with an orchestral introduction followed by a version of essentially the same material that incorporates the soloist.
The cadenza is also novel in that it is written out as part of the concerto
[ Keefe, Simon P. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Concerto'', CUP (2005)] and located before the recapitulation.
In a typical Classical concerto, the cadenza is improvised by the performing soloist and occurs at the end of a movement, after the recapitulation and just before the final coda. Mendelssohn's written cadenza was not included in the first published version of the concerto, but instead a "streamlined" version by Ferdinand David without the
contrapuntal
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
complexity of the original. This is the most played version today, although some artists, e.g.
Arabella Steinbacher
Arabella Miho Steinbacher (born 14 November 1981) is a German classical violinist.
Biography
Steinbacher was born in Munich to a Japanese mother and a German father. When she was three, her mother read that a German violin teacher had recentl ...
, play Mendelssohn's original.
Joshua Bell performs the concerto with his own cadenza.
The violin concerto stands out from previous concertos with its connected movements.
There is no break between the first and second movements, with a bassoon note held between the two.
The bridging passage between the last two movements begins almost immediately after the slow movement. The melody is similar to that of the opening, which hints at the
cyclic form of the piece.
[Wilson, C. ''Notes on Mendelssohn: 20 Crucial Works'', Eerdmans Books (2005)] The linking was designed to eliminate applause between movements. This would have come as a surprise to Mendelssohn's audience, who, unlike today's, were used to applauding between movements.
The concerto also calls on the soloist to function as an accompanist to the orchestra for extended periods, such as the ricochet arpeggios at the start of the recapitulation. This too was novel for a violin concerto of its time.
Legacy
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto influenced the concertos of many other composers, who adopted aspects of it in their own concertos.
For_example,_the_unusual_placement_of_the_
cadenza_
In_music,_a_cadenza_(from__it,_cadenza,_link=no_,_meaning__cadence;_plural,_''cadenze''_)_is,_generically,_an_improvised_or_written-out__ornamental__passage_played_or_sung_by_a__soloist_or_soloists,_usually_in_a_"free"_rhythmic_style,_and_of_...