Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

“During the summer of 1838, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his longtime friend and collaborator Ferdinand David: “I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor runs through my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace.”” (https://houstonsymphony.org/mendelssohn-violin-concerto/)

Hello, and welcome to the World Before Pancakes.

Joseph Joachim told friends at his 75th birthday party:

“The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven's. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart's jewel, is Mendelssohn's.”

On today’s program: Where does this Concerto come from?

The BBC profiles Mendelssohn:

“Felix Mendelssohn – grandson of an eminent Jewish philosopher and son of a wealthy banker who converted to Christianity – came from a happy and privileged background. The family home in Berlin was a lively intellectual centre and Felix’s education covered classics, science, languages, law and several other subjects besides music.

From the age of 11 he composed fluently and prolifically: a huge quantity of piano and chamber music, five concertos, a few little operas and a dozen symphonies for strings preceded his official Symphony No. 1 of 1824.” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/0e85eb79-1c05-44ba-827c-7b259a3d941a)

One of his earlier works was the “Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra”, written when he was 12-14 years ( a preteen!)

“His parents encouraged an extensive musical education (more in the interests of producing a cultured son of a wealthy family than in fostering a career in the arts), and impromptu chamber concerts were common in the home. At 16, Mendelssohn was sufficiently advanced to write his unforgettable Octet, Op. 20, one of the finest works he ever produced.

That same year, he met the rising 15-year-old violinist Ferdinand David, who had already appeared as a soloist in the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus, a hall which was to figure prominently in the development of the concerto. The two quickly became close friends, and maintained contact via a steady stream of letters as their careers developed.” (Geoff Kuenning, https://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/ficus-members/geoff/prognotes/mendelssohn/violinCon.html)

Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO7iz9g7cIg

“During the summer of 1838, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his longtime friend and collaborator Ferdinand David: “I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor runs through my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace.” Indeed, it would not give him peace for another six years, when he at last found time and inspiration amidst his busy concert schedule to complete it. He consulted David regularly throughout the composition process regarding violin technique and, ever the perfectionist, continued to make minor adjustments to the concerto unto its premiere in Leipzig on March 13, 1845. Composed at the height of Mendelssohn’s brilliant career, the concerto became an instant classic and remains one of the cornerstones of the repertoire.” (https://houstonsymphony.org/mendelssohn-violin-concerto/)

A bit of excerpt exploration:

Recording of the third movement by Eugene Ysaye, in 1912:

Wikipedia says that “He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar”.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lNTK_wu2M8

Recording by Fritz Kreisler, in 1926 (with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Ml85cVLF4

“His playing may seem anachronistic to listeners today, yet you can’t deny the utter charm of his humane phrasing, along with his delicate and nonintrusive vibrato. His constant portamento (sliding from one note to another) is more controversial, but is also part of his character and allows a glimpse to practices by some of the late 19th-century violin players… although the Berlin State Opera Orchestra is weak in volume, it is nonetheless impressively responsive to Kreisler’s superb control of rubato. As an example, listen to Kreisler’s handling of the second subject of the first movement – how he gently accelerate and then compensates by slowing down, with the orchestra right behind him.” (https://theclassicreview.com/best-of/mendelssohn-violin-concerto-the-best-recordings-part-1/)

Let’s hear it, for real:

“Reportedly, Mendelssohn disdained audiences who clap in between multiple-movement pieces, and here he wrote a concerto of 30 minutes that have no breaks in between movements.” (https://theclassicreview.com/best-of/mendelssohn-violin-concerto-the-best-recordings-part-1/)

Of Yehudi Menuhin’s:

He began violin lessons at age 4. 

“There steps a fat little blond boy on the podium, and wins at once all hearts as in an irresistibly ludicrous way, like a penguin, he alternately places one foot down, then the other. But wait: you will stop laughing when he puts his bow to the violin to play Bach's violin concerto in E major no.2."[5]

(An unnamed critic quoted in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_Menuhin)

“His performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto has an added spirituality and a truly unique quality of sound, along with a terrific orchestral accompaniment and good stereo recording. All of which makes this not only one of the best recordings of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, but one of the greatest recordings of any piece, on any instrument.” (https://theclassicreview.com/best-of/mendelssohn-violin-concerto-the-best-recordings-part-1/)

Yehudi Menuhin, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conduct by Wilhelm Furtwängler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=344w5UFq2dE