Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major / Souvenir D'Un Lieu Cher / Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A Major

Featuring

Vadim Gluzman
Andrew Litton
Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester
Alexander Glazunov
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Composition History

Tchaikovsky sketched out his entire Violin Concerto within eleven days after being inspired by Edouard Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, which he played with Josef Kotek.

Composition History

The arrival of young violinist Josef Kotek, a former student of Tchaikovsky, significantly improved the composer's mood and inspired him to begin the Violin Concerto.

Instruments

Vadim Gluzman, the violinist on this recording, plays the 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius, an instrument once owned by the famous Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer.

Critical Reception

Leopold Auer, a distinguished Hungarian violinist and teacher at the St Petersburg Conservatory, initially deemed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto "awkward to play" and refused to perform it.

Critical Reception

At its Vienna premiere in 1881, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto received divided and generally unenthusiastic opinions, with critic Eduard Hanslick writing a review so nasty Tchaikovsky could quote it by heart.

Composition History

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto was conceived during a period of low spirits, eight months after his ill-considered marriage, when he was wandering aimlessly in Western Europe.

Compositional Technique

Glazunov's Violin Concerto features an unusual formal layout with two movements linked by a solo cadenza, and the solo violin takes the lead almost continuously, introducing all themes.