Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"

The Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato's "Symposium") is a five-movement concerto written by Leonard Bernstein in 1954. The Serenade is highly unusual in that the composer was inspired by Plato's Symposium, a dialogue of related statements in praise of love, each statement made by a distinguished speaker. The five speakers who inspired Bernstein's five movements are as follows, together with his musical markings:

• I. Phaedrus: Pausanias -- marked lento and allegro
• II. Aristophanes -- marked allegretto
• III. Eryximachus, the doctor -- marked presto
• IV. Agathon -- marked adagio
• V. Socrates -- marked molto tenuto and allegro molto vivace

Although the Serenade is for violin, harp and percussion, the violin is the most prominent solo instrument. The work can therefore be considered essentially a violin concerto.

The composition is about a half hour in length.

Sources

• Bernstein Season: Serenade after Plato's Symposium , a BBC programme on the work.