Concerto in D major for violin and orchestra IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Stravinsky was never a fan of string instruments. For many years he actually refrained from using strings in his works to avoid a distinct Romantic sound. He was revolted by what he used to call standard violin concertos, especially those which were identified with nineteenth-century virtuoso style. In L’Histoire du soldat (1918) he did give an important solo part to the violin, but this was specifically to personify the Devil in the story. No wonder that when his publisher presented him with the idea to write a violin concerto, he was not very enthusiastic about it. The publisher’s idea was to introduce Stravinsky to Samuel Dushkin, a New York violinist of Polish-Jewish origin, who was very successful in those days. Stravinsky hesitated. Apart from his dislike of the genre, he had never played the violin and was afraid that he would not be able to write properly for the instrument because he was not familiar with its playing technique. Stravinsky agreed to face the challenge only after his friend, the composer Paul Hindemith, persuaded him that his lack of experience with the violin can only be an advantage and lead to writing an original and unconventional ca. 22 mins. violin work. Hindemith was right. The result is an interesting and exceptional work in its structure and sonority. It does not sound as a typical violin concerto, mainly because the violin’s virtues are presented as an integral part of the orchestration rather than a virtuoso showcase. The work actually forms part of a distinguished list of works of the 1920s, in which Stravinsky tried new and original compositional methods, while relying on Classical principles, especially concerning structure and musical development. In this compositional style he was especially inclined towards polyphony after Bach and his contemporaries. The Baroque and Classical styles became, to quote Stravinsky himself, the point of departure in his output and a solid proof to the notion that reliance on the past does not prevent the composer’s advancement and production of original and modern works. His writing style in that period was stamped as neoclassical. Stravinsky rejected this concept and in an interview he gave in 1930, a year before writing the violin concerto, he defined it as worn and insignificant. Still, it survived and was used largely Toccata Aria I Aria II Capriccio
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTQ4MDQ5