Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15, was written from 1938 to 1939 and dedicated to Henry Boys, his fellow pupil and close friend at the Royal College of Music.Henry Boys – Musician, teacher, writer on music Britten worked on it while staying with Aaron Copland and completed it in Quebec.

It was premiered in New York on 29 March 1940 by the Spanish violinist Antonio Brosa with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli. A year after its first performance in New York, the concerto was performed for the first time in England at Queen's Hall on 6 April 1941. It was conducted by Basil Cameron, and the soloist was Thomas Matthews, leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It received its first broadcast performance with the BBC Orchestra, conducted by Clarence Raybould and Thomas Matthews as soloist, on 28 April 1941.

A typical performance lasts around 33 minutes.

Revisions

Britten revised the concerto in 1950, 1954, and 1965. The first revision, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian, was performed by Bronislav Gimpel and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Thomas Beecham in 1951.

Britten wrote to Albert Goldberg in October 1950, saying:

Music The concerto is scored for solo violin and an orchestra of 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion (timpani, glockenspiel, cymbals, triangle, bass drum, side drum, and tenor drum), harp, and strings.

The concerto is written in three movements:

This form, although in three movements, is highly unlike that of concertos from the Classical and Romantic eras. First used in the First Violin Concerto of Sergei Prokofiev, this design is also evident in the concertos of William Walton and later in Shostakovich's first violin concerto, that has a structure that clearly recalls Britten's concerto.

I. Moderato con moto – Agitato – Tempo primo The work opens with a series of timpani strokes, a reminder perhaps of Beethoven's 1806 Violin Concerto. The rhythm is taken up by the bassoon and other instruments, persisting as an ostinato throughout the entire work. The violin enters with a song-like lament, soaring above the orchestra. The music is soon interrupted by a more militaristic and percussive secondary theme.

II. Vivace – Animando – Largamente – Cadenza The ensuing second movement, cast as a wild, moto perpetuo scherzo, unmistakably recalls Prokofiev. The movement culminates in an impressive cadenza which, while recalling musical material from both the first and second movements, acts as an organic link straight into the finale.

III. Passacaglia: Andante lento (Un poco meno mosso) As the finale, Britten uses a passacaglia: a set of variations on a ground bass, in the tradition of the Baroque chaconnes by Purcell and Bach. The ground bass, tonally unstable, is initially introduced by the trombone, as the violin recalls its lyrical theme from the first movement. Individual variations unfold, taking up characters of song, dance, capriccio and march. By the end, the ground bass is reduced to chant-like reminiscences; the orchestra leaves hints of an unmistakable D major chord, while the soloist is left undecided in a trill between the notes F-natural and G-flat.Paul Kildea, ed. (2008). Britten on Music, p. 365. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Discography

Year Soloist ConductorOrchestra Format: Record labelCatalogue number 1948 John Barbirolli,Hallé Orchestra (World Premiere Recording 1948, Original Version) CD: EMI (7243 5 66053 2 9) Publication date: 1997 1952 Antonio Brosa Ian Whyte,BBC Scottish Orchestra (9 April 1952) LP: Stereo Records & TapesCat: SRT/Custom 009 (private release) 1964 Peter Maag,Prague Symphony Orchestra (1964) CD: SupraphonCat: 1106532 (1991) 1970s Ruggiero Ricci G.Brott,SWF Sinfonie Orchester (live – doubtful venue, conductor and orchestra) CD: One-ElevenCat: EPR-96020 (1996) 1970 Mark Lubotsky Benjamin Britten,English Chamber Orchestra CD: DeccaCat: 417 308-2 1974 Rodney Friend John Pritchard,London Philharmonic Orchestra LP: EMI Cat: CFP 40250 1977 Ida Haendel Paavo Berglund,Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra LP: EMICat: ASD 3483 1981 Boris Gutnikov Aleksandr Dmitriyev,Leningrad Academic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra LP: MelodiyaCat: С10-16521-2 1990 Lorraine McAslan Steuart Bedford,English Chamber Orchestra (Recorded Oct. 1989) CD: Collins ClassicsCat: B0000264EZ 1996 Serguei Azizian Osmo Vänskä,Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra CD: AltoCat: BAX3661 (2013) 1997 Rebecca Hirsch Takuo Yuasa,BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra CD: NaxosCat: 8.553882 2001 Lydia Mordkovitch Richard Hickox,BBC Symphony Orchestra CD: ChandosCat: CHAN 9910 2003 Maxim Vengerov Mstislav Rostropovich,London Symphony Orchestra CD: EMI ClassicsCat: 0724355751027 2004 Frank Peter Zimmermann Manfred Honeck,Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra CD: SonyCat: S70316C 88697439992 2005 Daniel Hope Paul Watkins,BBC Symphony Orchestra CD: Warner ClassicsCat: 2564-60291-2 2009 Janine Jansen Paavo Järvi,London Symphony Orchestra CD: DeccaCat: 000289 478 1530 3 2011 Wanda Wiłkomirska Witold Rowicki,Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra CD: Orchestral Concert CDsCat: CD12/2011 2012 Anthony Marwood Ilan Volkov,BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra CD: HyperionCat: CDA67801 2013 James Ehnes Kirill Karabits,Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra CD: OnyxCat: BBX2835 (2012) 2013 Tasmin Little Edward Gardner,BBC Philharmonic CD: ChandosCat: CHAN107642014 Gil Shaham Juanjo Mena,Boston Symphony Orchestra CD: Canary ClassicsCat: CC121930s Violin Concertos Vol. 1 , 2-CD set, Canary Classics2014 Linus Roth Mihkel Kütson,Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin CD/SACD: Challenge ClassicsCat: CC 726272016 Vilde Frang James Gaffigan,hr-Sinfonieorchester CD: Warner ClassicsCat: 08256460092132017 Arabella Steinbacher Vladimir Jurowski,Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra CD/SACD: PentatoneCat: PTC 51866252022 Augustin Hadelich Cristian Măcelaru,WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne CD: Warner ClassicsCat: 90296310762023 Kerson Leong Patrick Hahn,Philharmonia Orchestra CD: Alpha ClassicsCat: ALPHA9462024 Baiba Skride Marin Alsop,Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra CD: OrfeoCat: C2200212024 Isabelle Faust Jakub Hrůša,Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks CD: harmonia mundiCat: HMM 902668

References

External links , Janine Jansen, Berlin Philharmonic, Daniel Harding conducting