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The Violin Concerto in B Minor Op. 34, is a violin concerto written by Hans Pfitzner. It is dedicated to Alma Moodie and was published in 1923, but first performed in 1924. The concerto is rarely heard nowadays and there is no known video recording of anyone playing it.

Structure

The concerto is in one movement divided in to three sections:

I. Lebhaft, energisch (Lively, energetic)

II. Langsam, sehr getragen (Slow, very stately)

III. Etwa das Zeitmaß des Anfangs (About the time of the beginning)

First "Movement"

The first section begins on a loud trilled B minor chord played by strings, percussion and brass instruments. The violin comes in almost immediately playing a broken second inversion B minor chord for one octave before returning to the tonic note, B. Then it does some arpeggios before playing a new melody, which starts off in D major, B minor's relative major.

Then, we hear another melody in the unusual key of D-flat major. D-flat's enharmonic equivalent, C#, is the supertonic note in the B minor scale. Low strings accompany the violin, who is playing in a very high register.

A little later we hear grumbling horns imitating a rhythm used in the melody before the D-flat one. Then, strings imitate that rhythm, and are later interrupted by a sudden D major chord played by the soloist. The soloist then imitates that imitation for a while and then does a new variation with glockenspiel, harp, and oboe accompanying with quintuplets. A quick accelerando and we're back to speed.

After more and more variations, we end the section with an F-minor cadenza. It imitates the D-flat theme, and keep in mind F-minor is the relative minor of D-Flat Major.

Second "Movement"

The second section is unique in that the violin soloist stays silent for the duration of the entire section. It continues the F-minor trend started by the cadenza. A lonely oboist introduces us to this section playing a melody based on the D-flat melody in the first section. Soon more instruments join, notably the horn. Then the strings start to make things more and more dramatic. The entire orchestra plays a diminished chord, which loudly resolves to an unexpected major chord. But then we settle back down, to muted strings. Then the oboe comes back in and the strings are now accompaniment. The section never resolves and leaves us hanging on an E played by the oboe, with harps playing gently to lead us in to the next section.

Third "Movement"

The third section begins with strings playing very quietly. They are playing the same trilled chord as at the beginning of the concerto. Then, the soloist begins by playing a descending melody in the B minor natural scale.

A little later on, the soloist plays the D-major theme from the first section, and then does a variation of the very beginning of the concerto. This variation leads us in to a new D major theme, played by strings. It is very delicate. Then the soloist repeats it, and a horn accompanies it. Later on, this melody turns in to D-minor, and then back to the home key of B-minor. But we're not done. Now the melody has taken us to F-sharp major. A new melody in F-sharp major is played by the soloist and the strings. The soloist then plays some harmonics, and with an accelerando we are taken in to a new variation.

This new variation is based on the D major theme mentioned in the previous paragraph. The soloist is very aggressive, and so is the orchestra. Almost apologetically, yet another variation on that same theme is heard right after, with the soloist playing quickly and delicately, while the strings are playing a more relaxed accompaniment. At the end of this variation, the strings play that F-sharp major theme again. Later the soloist and a french horn bring us to B major. A trumpet plays a melody based on the broken chord that the soloist played at the very beginning of the concerto. Then, the soloist imitates that melody and then plays some very quick arpeggios. The arpeggios then take us to another imitation, this time of the D-flat theme from the first section. And then another imitation, this time of the D-major theme from right before the D-flat one. Then a loud B-major chord from the orchestra, and then sixteenth notes from the soloist, and then brass instruments finish off the piece while the soloist plays an arpeggio.

Reception

When it was first performed, the Violin Concerto was compared to Max Bruch's first violin concerto as equally important. Moodie performed it over 50 times in Germany. However, it quickly fell out of popularity.

Recordings

The first recording of the concerto was by Gerhard Taschner in 1955, with Rudolf Kempe and the RIAS-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. This recording remains the most popular today, as it is the most expressive of all of the available recordings.

Other soloists who have recorded this concerto include: