Non-Standard Violin Concertos

In addition to playing the staples of the violin repertoire, I particularly enjoy putting some spotlight on the lesser-known works for violin and orchestra. I find that there are quite a few fantastic pieces which deserve to be better known. In this page you will find concert videos of some of my favorite rare gems:

Chevalier de Saint Georges: Violin Concerto in A major, op. 5 no. 2

Chevalier de Saint Georges was a virtuoso violinist, which is clearly evident in his Highly-demanding writing for the violin in this Concerto. It is also a melodically-inspired piece, particularly the second movement which is a touching aria.

Franz Lehar - Hungarian Fantasy, op. 45

Lehar is known as “The King of Operettas”, but also wrote this charming show piece for the violin. It is a chain of beautiful tunes, from a melancholic opening quoting Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, to a furiously fast finale.

Henriette Bosmans - Concert Piece for Violin and Orchestra

Henriette Bosmans was a Dutch pianist and composer of Jewish heritage. She was a successful soloist before the 2nd World War, performing frequently with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. During the second world war she could no longer perform publicly, and her compositions were banned. To Bosmans' request, Conductor Willem Menglberg, who performed her works frequently, intervened and rescued her mother from a concentration camp. Bosmans' Concert Piece for Violin and Orchestra was written in 1934, and is dedicated to her husband at the time, violinist Francis Koene, who died of a brain tumor the following year. It is full of Eastern modes and an improvisatory feel, while at the same time very dramatic. The Finale of the piece is quite virtuosic. It was premiered by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, its concertmaster Louis Zimmermann and conductor Willem Mengelberg. In 1940 and 1941 it was performed in the US by the Cincinatti Symphony and Boston Symphony, both times with violinist Ruth Posselt as soloist.

Rodrigo - Concierto de estio (“Summer Concerto”) for violin and orchestra (1943)

A tour-de-force of virtuoso writing for the violin, filled with Spanish flavor and colors. An unjustly neglected concerto in my opinion, perhaps due to it’s technical challenges? I play the cadenza by Christian Ferras.

William Bolcom - Romanza for Violin and Strings Orchestra

Turn-of-the century Viennese romanticism combines with Jazz in this 2009 piece by William Bolcom. Set in 3 movements, Romanza, Valse Funebre, and Cakewalk, it is full of humor, sometime dark, sometimes witty, and in the last movement, lots of fun.

Grazyna Bacewicz - Violin Concerto no. 3 “Highland”

Bacewicz was a fantastic violinist, and she wrote not less than 7 concertos for the violin. The third one was written during a period where she was incorporating Polish folk music into her writing, and the result is a brilliant Concerto, full of humor, as one could hear in this last movement (here with piano):

Ysaye - Chant d’hiver for violin and orchestra, op. 15

In a sound-world reminiscent of Debussy and Wagner, this melancholic tone poem for violin and orchestra combines virtuosic writing for the violin with orchestral colors imitating wind and ice.

Szymanowski - Violin Concerto no. 2 (1933)
1st movement

Evocative harmonies combine with Polish folk influences in this highly evocative score. The rich orchestral writing and virtuoso violin part make this piece particularly effective for audiences (I heard people gasp on more then one occasion in the transition passage between the solo violin cadenza and the start of the second movement).

Szymanowski - Violin Concerto no. 2 (1933)
2nd movement

Hartmann - Concerto Funebre for violin and string orchestra (1939/1959)

Written at the outbreak of World War II, Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre is a powerful and original work, which reacts to the tragic events happening in the world during the time of its composition, without resorting to any cliches. Written in a direct, communicative yet modern musical style, it is also full of interesting references, musical and political. (See more in the “About the music” section on my website)

Ben-Haim - Three Songs without words for violin and orchestra (1951)

Arguably Ben-Haim’s most popular work, these three miniatures from 1951 are the middle-eastern equivalent to Mendelssohn’s Songs without words. The three short pieces comprise of an Arioso, Ballad and Sephardic Melody, and represent the epitome of Ben-Haim’s unique style, combining middle-eastern modes and melismas with western fundamentals to create pictures in sound of the Middle East.

Mendelssohn - Concerto in D minor for violin and string orchestra

Composed by Mendelssohn at the age of 13 (!), it is an original and surprising work, most notably its gypsy-like and humorous last movement.

Paul Ben-Haim - “Yizkor” (Evocation) for Violin and Symphony Orchestra (1942)

Written in memory of violinist Andreas Weissgerber, one of the first leaders of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (later renamed Israel Philharmonic Orchestra), the piece belongs to the Romantic tradition of single-movement works for violin and orchestra. A fiery cadenza by Jascha Heifetz comes right before the moving coda in the following excerpt.

Beethoven - Concerto movement for violin and orchestra in C major, woO5 

In this seldom heard work by Beethoven, written around 1790-1792, the autograph breaks off abruptly towards the end of the development section, and it's impossible to know for sure whether this is an unfinished draft or the only surviving portion of a complete movement (or maybe movements!). The version I am playing, completed by Wilfried Fischer, adds only 24 bars to Beethoven's original writing. I find that this work by the young Beethoven is certainly worth hearing thanks to its originality, virtuosity and connections with his later, well-known Violin Concerto.

Jonathan Leshnoff - Chamber Concerto for violin and orchestra (2015) (20 minutes long)

Jonathan Leshnoff’s music has been increasingly in demand in recent years, and no wonder. The Chamber Concerto is an impeccably written work; the writing for the violin balances lyricism and virtuosity, the form is clear, the orchestration beautifully effective, and the emotional message direct. I personally see in its two contrasting movements a representation of the sacred and the profane, and the inevitable connection between them. The first movement starts with a halo of strings encompassing the solo violin, whose song is sometimes echoed by the orchestra, and sometimes answered with an Amen. The second is a relentless perpetuum mobile, its hustle and bustle interrupted by references to the first movement, as though hinting that even in our hectic lives there are moments of spirituality.