Beethoven: Violin Concerto

Abstract

Beethoven's Violin Concerto was the only significant work of this genre to appear between Mozart's five concertos of 1775 and Mendelssohn's E minor Concerto of 1844. This handbook explores the background to Beethoven's work, its genesis, its place in the composer's oeuvre and the influences which combined in its creation. It describes contemporary reactions to the work both in the musical press and in the concert hall during its first crucial years, and explains how it was eventually accepted into the repertory, spawning numerous recordings and editions. The principal sources and many of the work's textual problems are considered, including discussion of the composer's version for piano and orchestra, Op. 61a. A detailed account of the work itself is followed by a review of the wide variety of cadenzas that have been written to complement the concerto through its performance history.

Sound Appropriation and Musical Borrowing as a Compositional Tool in New Electroacoustic Music

“…Other composers also paid tribute to Beethoven by quoting his music to different extents, such as in Metamorphosen (1947) by Richard Strauss; Shostakovich's reinterpretation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in his Sonata for Viola and Piano (1975); and Stockhausen in Opus 1970, also known as Stockhoven-Beethausen. One of the archetypal examples of "poly-stylistics, " Alfred Schnittke, even composed cadenzas for Beethoven's violin concerto, in which he quotes Beethoven as well as concertos by Brahms, Shostakovich and Alban Berg [12]. Finally, Charles Ives extensively borrowed material from Beethoven in each of the movements of his second piano sonata [13].…”

Analysis of Contemporary Violin Recordings of 19th Century Repertoire: Identifying Trends and Impacts

“…Specific approaches to phrasing, dynamics, bowing, tempo, rhythmic choices, vibrato, portamento, fingerings, and the like found to blur what appeared to be period modes. Such remarkable diversity of nuances was mostly traced in studies focusing on J. S. Bach’s six sonatas and partitas for solo violin (e.g., Pulley, 2002; Fabian, 2005; Ornoy, 2008; Cheng and Chew, 2008; Fabian and Ornoy, 2009; Dimov, 2010; Sretenovic and Adamovic, 2012; Gyulnazarova, 2013; Sarlo, 2015), but was also reported in recordings of several additional pieces written for either the violin (e.g., Levy, 2001; Katz, 2003; Lee, 2006; Stijn, 2009; Leech-Wilkinson, 2009) or other stringed instruments (e.g., Turner, 2004; November, 2010, 2011; Milisavljevic, 2011; Hong, 2014). …”

“…Harmonics were considerably reduced, together with avoiding open strings by fingering the note on its adjacent lower string. Articulation, while certainly varied in its manifestation, has tended toward considerable use of tenuto, seamless bowings, long and smooth legato lines used alongside even portato strokes, and clear-cut, articulated enunciation of staccato notes boosting brilliant virtuosic display and superb technical command (Stowell, 1998; Katz, 2006; Fabian, 2006, 2009; Ornoy, 2006, 2008; Fabian and Ornoy, 2009; Leech-Wilkinson, 2009; Sarlo, 2015). …”

Σύνθεση Κοντσέρτου Για Πιάνο Και Ορχήστρα

“…Στα δεύτερα μέρη των κοντσέρτων του, ο Βιόττι, παραθέτει πάντα μια αργή ρομάντσα (Romanze), όπου συνήθως το βιολί «τραγουδάει» στις υψηλές συχνότητες του οργάνου, ενώ στο τρίτο μέρος παραθέτει ένα εύθυμο ροντό, το οποίο αποτελείται από χορούς της εποχής. Τα κοντσέρτα για βιολί του Βιόττι ήταν ανάμεσα στα έργα που επηρέασαν το Μπετόβεν στη σύνθεση του δικού του κοντσέρτου για βιολί 107 καθώς και τις δύο κοντσερτσάντε ρομάντζες για βιολί και ορχήστρα έργα 40 και 50 αντίστοιχα. 108 τολμηρότατη, για την εποχή, αρμονία καθώς και πολύ αυξημένες τεχνικές απαιτήσεις του συνθέτη προς τον ερμηνευτή.…”