Violin Concerto (Tchaikovsky)
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The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the best known of all violin concertos. It is also considered to be among the most technically difficult works for violin.
The concerto is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A and B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in D, timpani and strings.
As with most concerti, the piece is in three movements, the first and last quick, the second slow:
Allegro moderato (D major)
Canzonetta: Andante (G minor)
Finale: Allegro vivacissimo (D major)
There is no break or pause between the second and third movements.
The piece was written in 1878 in Clarens, a Swiss resort on the shores of Lake Geneva where Tchaikovsky had gone to recover from the depression brought on by his disastrous marriage to Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova (Tchaikovsky was allegedly homosexual and had only married Milyukova out of a sense of duty).
Tchaikovsky was accompanied there by his composition pupil, the violinist Yosif Kotek, and the two played works for violin and piano together, which may have been the catalyst for the composition of the concerto. Tchaikovsky was not a violinist, and he sought the advice of Kotek on the completion of the solo part. Swift progress was made, and the work was completed within a month despite the middle movement getting a complete rewrite (a version of the original movement was preserved as the first of the three pieces for violin and piano, Souvenir d'un lieu cher).
Kotek did not have a strong enough reputation to premiere the work, so Tchaikovsky instead intended the first performance to be given by Leopold Auer, and accordingly dedicated the work to him. Auer refused, however, saying the work was unplayable (he did play the work later in his life, however), meaning that the planned premiere for March 1879 had to be cancelled and a new soloist found. The first performance was eventually given by Adolph Brodsky on December 4, 1881 in Vienna, under the baton of Hans Richter. Tchaikovsky changed the dedication to Brodsky. Critical reaction was mixed, and the piece was certainly not received as the masterpiece it is taken to be today. The influential critic Eduard Hanslick called it "long and pretentious" and said that it "brought us face to face with the revolting thought that music can exist which stinks to the ear". Hanslick also wrote that "the violin was not played but beaten black and blue", as well as labelling the last movement "odourously Russian".
Tchaikovsky wrote only one concerto for violin, but wrote three other concertos, all for piano (the first concerto is probably the best known).
Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Tchaikovsky)
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D大调小提琴协奏曲是柴科夫斯基创作的唯一一首小提琴協奏曲，也是他繼《第四號交響曲》和歌劇《尤琴·奧尼金》後的精心鉅作。由於此曲相當優秀、動聽，並廣受世人喜愛，而被後人推崇為堪與貝多芬、孟德爾頌和勃拉姆斯的小提琴協奏曲相互媲美的偉大作品。
1878年柴科夫斯基獲得梅克夫人的資助，前往瑞士日內瓦湖畔的克倫斯小村養病時創作了此曲。俄國名小提琴家約瑟夫·柯泰克路經克倫斯時，也曾為柴可夫斯基提供不少有關小提琴獨奏技巧的寶貴意見。
此曲原是題贈的當時俄國最偉大的小提琴家利奧波德·奧阿（Leopold Auer, 1845-1930），不過，當奧阿收到這首小提琴協奏曲的總譜時，卻以技術上演奏不可能為理由拒絕受贈，以致這首傑作被冷落了一段相當長的日子。後來才由在萊比錫音樂院任教的俄籍小提琴家布羅德斯基擔任獨奏，於1881年12月4日由狄希特指揮維也納愛樂管絃樂團首演，但仍舊遭受冷淡與忽視。
全曲共分三個樂章：
第一樂章，中庸的快板，D大調，4/4拍子，奏鳴曲形式。規模宏大的第一樂章表現了生活的樂趣。具有俄羅斯民間音樂的寬廣氣息和明朗悠揚的詩意。其主部主題具有動人的歌唱性，體現了俄羅斯歌曲寬廣動人的氣息，仿佛在歌唱青春、生命和大自然。
第二樂章，短歌，行板，g小調，3/4拍，三段體。其沉思般的抒情，被稱為“小抒情曲”。主要旋律真摯動人，略帶傷感。仿佛從遠處傳來一陣悠揚的歌聲，使人嗅到了大自然清新的氣息。
第三樂章，終曲，活潑的快板，D大調，2/4拍子，迴旋奏鳴曲形式。主題令人有俄國風激烈地敲擊之感，是屬於俄國民俗舞曲特雷巴克的一種。以很強的節奏，快活地進行，宛如一幅人民歡慶節日的圖畫。