Violin Concerto (Stravinsky)

Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto in D is a neoclassical violin concerto in four movements, composed in the summer of 1931 and premiered on October 23, 1931. It lasts approximately twenty minutes.

It was used by George Balanchine as music for two ballets.

History

Conception

The idea of a violin concerto was born in the mind of Willy Strecker of B. Schotts Söhne, Stravinsky's music publisher at the time, who proposed to Stravinsky that he compose something for the young violinist Samuel Dushkin, assuring Stravinsky that he could consult with Dushkin about technical issues (White 1979, 368). Stravinsky noted in his autobiography that Dushkin's availability for advice was a factor in his undertaking the Violin Concerto.^{[citation needed]} He also sought the opinion of composer and violinist Paul Hindemith, who allayed Stravinsky's fears about his unfamiliarity with the instrument, saying that this might help him come up with new possibilities for it. Stravinsky met with Dushkin at Strecker's residence in Wiesbaden, and he decided to go ahead. Blair Fairchild (1877–1933), Dushkin's patron, commissioned the work (White 1979, 368).

Composition

Stravinsky began sketching the Concerto in Paris early in 1931, with composition beginning in earnest in Nice, where the first two movements were completed and the third begun. In the summer, Stravinsky moved to the Château de la Véronnière in Voreppe in Isère, where he completed the third movement and write all of the fourth (White 1979, 369).

The manuscripts are dated May 20, 1931 for the first two movements and June 10, 1931 for the third, all in Nice, with no date given for the fourth. The full orchestral score is signed and dated "Voreppe (Isère) la Vironnière, 13/25. Sept. 1931" (White 1979, 368).

Performances

The work was premiered on October 23, 1931 in Berlin, being broadcast, with Dushkin playing the violin and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stravinsky himself. Dushkin also gave the work's first US performance in January 1932, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also made the first recording of the piece.

Movements

1. Toccata
2. Aria I
3. Aria II
4. Capriccio

The same chord, each time in a different guise, is played at the beginning of each movement. The composer described this chord as "his 'passport' to that Concerto". Stravinsky first showed Dushkin this chord, which stretches from D₄ to E₅ to A₆, one day early in 1931 while they were having lunch in a Paris restaurant. Dushkin at first thought that the chord was unplayable, and Stravinsky was disappointed. On returning home and trying it out on the violin, however, Dushkin was surprised to discover it was actually quite easy, and immediately telephoned the composer to say it could be played after all (Dushkin 1949,).

A typical performance of the concerto will last approximately 20 minutes.

Instrumentation

The music requires a solo violin, piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, strings.

Ballet

The concerto was choreographed by George Balanchine as "Balustrade" in 1941. It premiered on January 22, 1941 with Colonel de Basil's company Original Ballet Russe. In 1972 Balanchine created a new Ballet to the music, entitled "Stravinsky Violin Concerto." It was premiered by New York City Ballet as part of the Stravinsky Festival.

See also

• Concerto in D (Stravinsky)

References

• Dushkin, Samuel. 1949. "Working with Stravinsky". In. 1949. Stravinsky, compiled by Merle Armitage, edited by Edwin Corle, 179–92. A Merle Armitage Book. New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce. Reprinted, Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1969.
• "Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky, Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra". San Francisco Symphony. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928093849/http://www.sfsevents.org/europe2003/About_the_Music/stravinskynotes.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 
• "Violin Concerto in D, IGOR STRAVINSKY (Dead Link)". New York Philharmonic. http://www.newyorkphilharmonic.org/programNotes/Stravinsky%20Violin%20Concerto.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-07. 
• Philips Liner Notes
• Maya Pritsker. "Igor Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major (1931)". American Symphony Orchestra. http://www.americansymphony.org/dialogue.php?id=152&season=2003-2004. Retrieved July 29, 2006. 
• Concert booklet of HKPO notes by Marc Rochester
• Balustrade
• White, Eric Walter. 1979. Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works, second edition. Berkeley and Los Angeles: The University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03985-8.

Further reading

• Steinberg, Michael. The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. Oxford University Press US. pp. 468–472. ISBN 0195139313.