|
Beethoven's revered Violin Concerto, written in 1806, could not have
had a more inauspicious birth. The composer was so late in finishing the
manuscript that the soloist, Franz Clement, was sight-reading his part
at the performance and the orchestra was not rehearsed. Clement, leader
of the theatre orchestra in Vienna, had been a child prodigy and was considered
to be a remarkable violinist with a prodigious memory. However he had
a reputation as something of a charlatan in that some of his public performances
were said to be circus-like. After the first movement of Beethoven's Concerto,
he inserted a sonata of his own played with the violin upside down and
on one string. Oh dear! No wonder that the work made little impression
and sat on the shelf until the thirteen year-old Joachim and conductor
Felix Mendelssohn performed it in London in 1844. Even in the care of
these masters, the Concerto was not readily accepted, lacking the showmanship
that nineteenth century violin virtuosos demanded. Louis Spohr, composer
of five violin concertos, said to Joachim after a performance of the Beethoven
Concerto that he supposed it was fine in its own way, but that he would
rather hear Joachim play a "real" violin piece. As traditions changed,
interpretation began to be discussed more fully and Beethoven's monumental
Concerto is now recognised as one of the great works written for violin
and orchestra.
Unusually the first movement is set in motion by four repeated notes
on the timpani. This and the subsequent wind phrases assume ever greater
significance as the music progresses. A full blown orchestral introduction
leads to the almost reflective entry of the solo violin and the subsequent
closely knit working out of Beethoven's previously stated thematic ideas.
The Larghetto finds the solo violin weaving delicate threads around the
melodic lines of the clarinet and bassoon before taking over to an accompaniment
of plucked strings. The Rondo follows immediately, changing to more of
a rustic mood - Beethoven in "Pastoral" mode.
|
