About the work
Johannes Brahms's Violin Concerto in D major, op. 77, was completed in 1878 and premiered in Leipzig in January 1879 with Joseph Joachim as soloist and Brahms conducting. The work is one of the four great violin concertos of the nineteenth century (alongside Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky) and a peak of the symphonic violin repertoire.
Plot
The concerto follows the classical three-movement scheme with a duration of about 40 minutes. First movement, Allegro non troppo, in D major: a long orchestral opening of pastoral expanse, then the dramatic, virtuoso entry of the violin. The development takes melodic motifs through demanding passages; Joseph Joachim's cadenza has remained the standard, although Auer, Heifetz and Kreisler have written their own. Second movement, Adagio, in F major: an oboe melody of singing beauty, taken up by the solo violin and developed into one of the most lyrical movements of the entire violin repertoire. (The violinist Pablo de Sarasate refused to play the concerto with the dictum: „I'm not going to stand on stage with violin in hand and listen to the oboe play the only good melody in the slow movement.") Third movement, Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace, in D major: a Hungarian-flavoured rondo with virtuosic double-stops, energetic dance rhythms, brilliantly demanding violin technique.
Cultural significance
The Brahms Violin Concerto is one of the most-performed concertos in the violin repertoire. Joseph Joachim, to whom the work is dedicated, was its first interpreter and Brahms's adviser on solo violin technique. Famous recordings include those by Henryk Szeryng, Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, Janine Jansen. The concerto is regarded as one of the most demanding tests of any soloist.