Black Holes and Snowy Mountains

It is ironic that Brahms- champion of the conservative old guard against the so-called New German School led by Wagner and Liszt- patterned his Violin Concerto in D Major much on the same heroic idea that Wagner and Liszt held dear. However, Brahms’ vision of the soloist as hero is subdued; conquest via finesse and form rather than pure brute-force virtuosity itself. From the first defiant entry of the violin we know that a struggle is beginning, one that takes upwards of 22 minutes (in a standard performance) to resolve.

Dedicated to his close friend and violinist Joseph Joachim, it was premiered with Joachim as the soloist and Brahms conducting in Leipzig on January 1, 1879. The first movement is an incredibly complex interaction between the solo violin trying to find its way against a sometimes indifferent, sometimes downright belligerent orchestra. The second movement adagio is calm and simple (everything the first movement is not) while the third is a light-hearted rondo that combines traditional rondo form with, among other things, a Viennese Waltz and a Turkish March.

II. Adagio

The second movement begins with a lyric oboe melody with wind accompaniment. Theme one is repeated (1:01) but abbreviated. Theme two is based off of the descending 3-note motive on the tail end of theme one and begins at 1:33 with a rising bassoon figure. Theme two is very intellectual and reflective, almost whistful in quality as the winds resolve to a warm, comforting string sustain.

The solo violin enters at 2:20 with theme one with quiet, echoing horns that almost seem as if they are in the distance. A soft trill (3:08) in the violin brings us to the interlude.

The interlude alternates between rising motives in the winds and violin lines, growing to a sort of exclamation point at 3:53 which gives way to the violin playing a searing melody in the high register over the orchestral strings which is theme two. Theme two seems to tell a tale of peril and tragedy. A mournful exchange between the violin and orchestra (4:10) leads to another passage in which the violin sings over the orchestra that begins to build before suddenly dissipating with a high violin note (5:15). Theme one returns at 5:36, bringing us out of the darkness and back into the calm, peaceful mood of the movement’s beginning. Theme two returns at 7:25 in the oboe, repeated shortly after by the violin. A lovely, lyric violin passage ending on an angelic high note with supporting wind chords ends the movement.

III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

The rondo theme is stated immediately by the violin and is subsequently repeated by the orchestra. A passage featuring a rapidly descending violin run and a rendition of the rondo theme in minor leads back into a restatement of the rondo theme in major by the orchestra. A transition follows with light arpeggios in the violin, giving way to a series of rapidly ascending and descending scales over pizzicato strings before the cadence theme- a rising short/long rhythm played in double stop by the soloist (1:09). The orchestra responds with the same motive inverted before the entire orchestra replays the cadence.

The rondo theme reappears at 1:54 in the violin and is repeated by the orchestra. An embellished rondo theme at 2:17 leads into almost casually-played arpeggios. The arpeggios are followed by four bars in triple meter (a waltz!) played by the violin. The orchestra then switches the music back to duple, after which the soloist goes back to triple. To get out of triple meter and back into something that the orchestra seems to be more comfortable with, a hemiola at 3:10 followed by the cadence theme brings us back to the rondo theme in the violin at 4:08, this time in minor. The orchestra doesn’t like this at all, and repeats the theme in major. Four convincing orchestral tuttis (4:49) seem to announce another cadenza, but the violin only plays alone for a few measures before the winds just can’t resist getting in on the action again. During the ensuing passage several elements of the rondo theme make fleeting appearances. A dissonant chord and a violin descent starts theme one in the low strings and timpani, this time in the style of Turkish march (5:56). Flutes and winds take the place of triangles and percussion to portray dangling swords as in the Dvorak Cello Concerto. The music builds steadily into a modified version of the cadence in the solo violin. The march returns, followed again by the cadence. A double-stopped, descending violin run (6:47) leads to triumphant theme one fanfares in the brass and winds before descending winds (7:01) create a feeling of falling back to earth. The movement ends on three loud orchestral tuttis.

Brahms’ only Violin Concerto is a masterpiece as much for what is isn’t. True to his conservative style, Brahms never deviates from his function-over-form mentality. There are no grand, virtuosic passages for the soloists simply for the sake of virtuosity- everything fits into the larger picture, building on old material in a way that allows for further development later on. It is one of the most important works for the violin and is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest violin concerti in the repertoire along with that of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn.

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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Leonard Bernstein and Gidon Kremer’s 2004 release with the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophone. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Alternatively, you can purchase this recording from the iTunes Music Store often at a reduced price by following the link below.

This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.

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Posted under: Culture by HP at 04/18/09 7:55 AM