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We suggest further works to explore after Mozart’s Violin Concertos
There were once thought to be nine violin concertos by Haydn but, as in Mozart’s case, a few were cases of mistaken identity. Now, it’s thought he wrote four, one of which has since been lost. Start with the Vivaldian C major Concerto of 1765, written for Luigi Tomasini. Haydn probably also had him in mind for the A major Concerto that followed, but the dedicatee for the final uplifting G major Concerto is unknown. (Lisa Jacobs, The String Soloists Cobra COBRA0061) Mozart first met
Josef Myslivecek
(1737-81) while on tour in Bologna in 1770, and soon became friends with the older composer, sometimes known as ‘the Divine Bohemian’. He was, wrote Mozart later, ‘full of fire, spirit and life’. Nine of Myslivecek’s violin concertos survive and, with their lyrical ease and dynamism, inhabit a similar sound-world to Mozart. (Leila Schayegh, Collegium 1704/Václav Luks Accent ACC24336)
Maddalena Sirmen (1745-1818) was another hugely gifted violinist and composer. Brought up in a Venetian orphanage and later taught by Tartini, she toured Europe as a performer, making her debut in London in 1771. Over the next two years she wrote six violin concertos that blend the concerto’s Baroque Italian roots with early Classical style. (Pál Németh, Savaria Baroque Orchestra/piroska Vitarius Hungaraton HCD32499)
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto of
1806 has become one of the bestloved examples of the genre, but for something a little less often heard, try the two Romances in G major and F major for violin and orchestra. Written in 1798 and 1802, though not published until later, both have slightly mysterious origins. But that doesn’t get in the way of the music’s beauties, rooted in the world of Mozart and the French violin school of Viotti and Kreutzer. (James Ehnes, Rlpo/andrew Manze Onyx ONYX4167)
Like Beethoven, Spohr took the concerto a step further into the Romantic era. From 1808-25 he wrote 18 violin concertos and, although they were also indebted to the Viennese School and the French violin virtuosos, they offer a new blend of elegance and expression. Popular in their time, they are rarely heard in concert today. (Ulf Hoelscher, Berlin Radio So/christian Frölich CPO 7778182)
Josef Myslivecek’s violin concertos display lyrical ease and dynamism