Peter  Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)  

Controversy seemed to follow Tchaikovsky where ever he went.  The Russian nationalists criticized his music for being too Western while German critics lamented his inattention to form and for his introducing melodies that were never heard again during the piece.  The Violin Concerto of 1878 was no exception to controversy.  Composed in less than a month, he dedicated it to a colleague, Leopold Auer, who upon examining it, pronounced it “impossible to play.”  Failing to find another violinist, Tchaikovsky put the work aside even while continuing to make revisions.  It was not until December 1881 and in Vienna that the Concerto was given its first performance, by the famous violinist Aldof Brodsky.  The audience reaction to the work was mixed, some disliking it, others intrigued by the fast rhythms.  Vienna’s chief critic, Eduard Hanslick, stated in a review that “the violin is no longer played; it is pulled, torn and drubbed . . . . Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto gives us for the first time the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear.” Soon after the primer, the concerto was recognized as one of the great concerto’s written for the violin, and even today it is still the best loved concertos of the romantic era.In a letter from Switzerland to his friend Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote: “…Spring has come with all its charm. The sun is warm and shining brightly. The trees are budding. A mass of flowers has appeared in the fields, and to crown it all – moonlit nights. I feel so good…”These lines were written during the period when Tchaikovsky was composing the Concerto for Violin in D Major.A quiet and subtle melody opens the first movement, that builds in intensity in preparation for the solo violin. A short cadenza, followed by a delightful main theme which will be heard throughout the movement.  A modulation with growing orchestral intensity, the violin introduces a more playful second theme.  In the middle, or development section, a jubilant and brilliant orchestra plays the main theme followed by an elaborate version by the soloist.  A cadenza, a long trill followed by a flute who reintroduces the main melody followed by the second theme.  The violinist plays virtuoso passages which, with the orchestra, intensifies bringing the movement to a close.The second movement begins with a slow woodwind passage, followed by a violin melody, then a brighter melody all the time supported by the orchestra, the original melody returns accompanied by a clarinet, then a flute and clarinets, the opening woodwind theme once again, a drawn out climax, then suddenly--the third movement has arrived.  The orchestra, followed by the violin in a cadenza, then the first theme is played quickly with a string pizzicato and orchestra supporting the solo.  A slower more dramatic melody, which increases in tempo, then a slower tempo accompanied by oboe and clarinet solos and followed by other woodwinds.  The violin reenters at a slower pace, which picks up to the main theme until the slower melody, now speeded up, returns which is speeded up, then the oboe and clarinet return with the other instruments, followed by the solo violin.  Soon the violin restates the opening theme once again followed by the orchestra as it builds to a climax, the violin in a kind of frenzy of virtuoso passages creating an intense interaction until the piece ends in a kind of whirlwind.