Tchaikovsky's Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, originated from the discarded slow movement of his Violin Concerto, which he felt did not fit the complexity of the outer movements.
Compositional Technique
Glazunov's Violin Concerto in A minor is cast in one extended movement, following the precedent of works like Liszt's Second Piano Concerto, while still incorporating the typical fast-slow-fast structure.
Composer Biography
Alexander Glazunov encouraged his students, admitting both Prokofiev and Shostakovich to the St. Petersburg Conservatory at age 13 and allowing Shostakovich to write his First Symphony for graduation.
Critical Reception
Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto was infamously criticized by Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick, who said its "stink one can hear," yet it became a favorite in the violin repertoire.
Composer Biography
Alexander Glazunov, a Russian composer, became director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and was described by H.G. Wells as having almost exhausted his music paper during the early years of the revolution.
Critical Reception
Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 was initially viewed as "tamer stuff" and even "Mendelssohnian" by Parisian critics, who had expected more "savagery" from the composer.
Instruments
Violinist Martin Beaver performs on a 1729 'ex-Heath' Guarneri del Gesù violin, which is on loan from an anonymous donor to the Canada Council for the Arts.
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