Beethoven's Violin Concerto is one of the most loved works in the entire repertoire. Although composed in the style of the Classical Period, Beethoven pushes the boundaries of the genre through the use of highly expressive content and the expansion of its formal structure to an epic scale.
The concerto was composed for violinist Franz Clement, who premiered the work in 1806 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. After the initial performance, the concerto fell into obscurity and was only rediscovered decades later.
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| THEATER AN DER WIEN |
In 1844, the concerto was revived in a concert featuring the twelve-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim and conductor Felix Mendelssohn. Since that performance, Beethoven's Violin Concerto has remained one of the most important works in the concerto repertoire.
Although Beethoven uses the standard forms of the Classical Period in his Violin Concerto, he expands upon the basic structures and treats them more freely, resulting in a more expressive aesthetic and less predictable form.
The movement that expands the traditional structure to an epic scale is the 1st movement Double Exposition Form. It is extremely complex but filled with beautiful melodies and wonderful surprises as Beethoven experiments with the expectations of the listener.
The 2nd movement is a gorgeous Theme and Variations modified to include extra themes. The 3rd movement is a tremendously fun Rondo in the style of an afternoon hunting trip in the 19th Century countryside.
