Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Violin Concerto in 1878, which today is one of the most famous violin concertos of all. It was considered unplayable by many at the time until violinist Adolph Brodsky premiered it in Vienna, after which the work was also dedicated to Brodsky.
We begin with a melodic theme in the strings, which easily sets the concert in motion:
Soon after, the oboes follow with the same theme, but now slightly shortened:
The intensity of the orchestra increases until it suddenly culminates and stops, and out of the silence comes the solo violin with a piece:
This is immediately followed by the violinist with the first theme of the concert:
After playing through the theme with little accompaniment from the orchestra, it's as if the violinist thinks “no, come on!” and plays the theme with even more ornamentation and leaps - and now the orchestra joins in:
After a piece where the solo violin increases in intensity and almost fights with the orchestra for space, it is now allowed to introduce the second theme of the movement, which we hear very little of:
It doesn't take long before the orchestra joins in with the first theme:
The solo violin now tries to introduce a new theme that has a more playful and dancing character:
The solo violin gets to play this for a while, but suddenly the orchestra cuts through again with the first theme:
Now the solo violinist has had enough, and every time there is a pause in the orchestral passages, an ascending motif is repeated:
This signals the beginning of the cadenza, a virtuoso passage where the violinist can show off his skills as a musician. And it is formidable:
