Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

General Information – Instrumentation – Manuscript – Publication – Arrangements – Recordings – Program Note

General Information:

Composition:
1938–9. Completed by 2 June 1939, though revisions continued until 15 October. Orchestration revised 1943.

First Performances:
7 December 1939. Severance Hall, Cleveland. Jascha Heifetz violin, Cleveland Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski conductor.
Revised version:
17 January 1944. Civic Hall, Wolverhampton. Henry Holst violin, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent conductor.

Duration:
About 30 minutes

Movements:

I.   Andante tranquillo
II.   Presto capriccioso alla napolitana
     III.   Vivace

Dedication:
To Jascha Heifetz

Craggs Catalogue Number:
C37

Instrumentation:

Violin solo

2 flutes (second doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (second doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons – 4 horns, 2 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones – timpani, 2 percussion (side drum, cymbals, tambourine, xylophone) – harp – strings

Orchestral Instrumentation of Original Version:

2 flutes (second doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (second doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons – 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones – timpani, 2 percussion (side drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, xylophone, castanets, glockenspiel, gong) – harp – strings

Manuscript:

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Music Division. Autograph manuscript of a reduction for violin and piano. First movement is dated 'New York 15/5/39', before the orchestration was complete.

Frederick R. Koch Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Manuscript FRKF 597. Autograph full score, of the revised version. 142 pages.

Publication:

Oxford University Press. Study score, 1945, corrected 1969, 019 3684705. Reduction for violin and piano, arranged by Franz Reizenstein, 019 3684713. Score and parts are available on hire.
            [Purchase online from SheetMusicPlus.com: Study score]

Arrangements:

Arranged for violin and piano, by Franz Reizenstein. Violin part edited by Jascha Heifetz.
Publication: Oxford University Press, 1941, 019 3684713.

Recordings:

Soloist Orchestra Conductor Year Compact Disc Timing
Jascha Heifetz Cincinnati Symphony Orchestar Sir Eugene Goossens 1942 Avid AMSC 604 27'36"
Zino Francescatti Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy 1959 Sony Classical 58931 28'48"
Sir Yehudi Menuhin London Symphony Orchestra Sir William Walton 1969 EMI Classics 65005 31'40"
Ida Haendel Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Paavo Berglund 1977 EMI Classics 64202
EMI Classics 73371		 31'24"
Nigel Kennedy Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Andrι Previn 1987 EMI Classics 49628 25'51"
Lydia Mordkovitch London Philharmonic Jan Latham-Koenig 1991 Chandos CHAN 9073 34'22"
Aaron Rosand Florida Philharmonic Orchestra James Judd 1991 Harmonia Mundi 907070 28'55"
Tasmin Little Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Andrew Litton 1994 London 444 114-2 31'42"
Dong-Suk Kang English Northern Philharmonia Paul Daniel 1997 Naxos 8.554325 29'17"

 

Program Note:

See Ian Lace's article on this work and the Viola Concerto.

WilliamWalton.net – Catalogue of Works – Orchestral Music