Violin Concerto No. 3 (Saint-Saëns)

Violin Concerto
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Key	B minor
Catalogue	Op. 61
Period	Romantic
Genre	Concerto
Composed	1880 (1880)
Movements	3
Scoring	Violin & Orchestra
Premiere
Date	October 1880 (1880-10)

The Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, by Camille Saint-Saëns is a piece for violin and orchestra written in March 1880. Saint-Saëns dedicated the concerto to fellow composer-virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who played the solo part at the premiere in October 1880. The work is in three movements:

• Allegro non troppo
• Andantino quasi allegretto
• Molto moderato e maestoso - Allegro non troppo

Even though the third (and last) of Saint-Saëns' violin concertos seems to impose fewer technical demands on the soloist than its predecessors, its melodic invention and impressionistic subtlety present significant interpretive challenges. This stress is most notable in the second movement and the chorale of the finale, which is reminiscent of the conclusion of the Fourth Piano Concerto. Possibly because of this, the Sarasate concerto along with the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, and the Havanaise, Op. 83, have endured as the major concertante works for violin by Saint-Saëns still heard regularly today.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin, 2 flutes/piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings.

References

• Fallon, Daniel M.; Ratner, Sabina Teller (2001). "Camille Saint-Saëns". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. pp. 124–135. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |vol= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
• Vachon, Jean-Pascal. Liner notes to Tapiola Sinfonietta recording. (BIS-CD-1470)

External links

• Violin Concerto No. 3: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project