The stories behind the Schumann violin concertos, and the almost unbelievable delays in their premieres, are as interesting as just about any compositional back stories in Western music history. The First Violin Concerto is actually Schumann's own reworking of the Cello Concerto for use by the violin. The changes are minimal, mainly altering octaves and making minor technical changes to make the score more idiomatic for the violin. This version was not known to have been performed in Schumann's lifetime, and the score was ...
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The stories behind the Schumann violin concertos, and the almost unbelievable delays in their premieres, are as interesting as just about any compositional back stories in Western music history. The First Violin Concerto is actually Schumann's own reworking of the Cello Concerto for use by the violin. The changes are minimal, mainly altering octaves and making minor technical changes to make the score more idiomatic for the violin. This version was not known to have been performed in Schumann's lifetime, and the score was lost until 1987, the year of its official premiere. The D minor Concerto, with which more listeners are familiar, had similar difficulty getting off the ground. Dedicated to legendary violinist Joseph Joachim, the score and the work's publication were inexplicably suppressed for nearly a century. The concerto was not brought before an audience until 1937. Performing these two concertos, along with the often maligned Fantasy in C major, is Swedish violinist Ulf Wallin along with the...
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