During my graduate school years, I had the opportunity to appreciate classical music via an adult education class that I took during Night school in Chicago, Illinois in the early 1960's. I am posting three of my favorite violin concertos for your listening pleasure as follows:
1. Mendelssohn Violin Concerto:
2. Paganini Violin Concerto, No.1
Sources differ as to when exactly Paganini composed his Violin Concerto No. 1; dating Paganini’s works is complicated by the fact during his life, Paganini sought to keep the techniques of his fantastic virtuosity secret by withholding the majority of his compositions from publication. The concerto certainly dates from the mid-to-late 1810s, when Paganini was establishing himself as Italy’s leading violinist by touring the peninsula’s cities.
For Paganini’s contemporaries, there was almost something miraculous about his playing. His music was unlike anything anyone had heard before—so difficult, so extravagant that no one else could play it. In his later years, when Paganini toured Austria, Germany, France, and England, his Romantic Northern European critics would hear something demonic in his extraordinary abilities, playing into centuries-old legends of violinists who sold their souls to the devil (his then gaunt appearance and reputation as a seducer no doubt fanned the flames of such rumors).(https://houstonsymphony.org/paganini-violin-concerto-1/)
3.Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major
- Allegro moderato (D major)
- Canzonetta: Andante (G minor)
- Finale: Allegro vivacissimo (D major)
My honorable mention are: Saint Saens, Dvorak, Brahms and Beethoven Violin Concertos.
Meanwhile, here's excerpt from ten other violin concertos
Blogging Notes: I will be posting a 12-part series on Macrine J Katague Celebration of Life through her favorite music in 12 categories beginning next week. Watch for it!
