space, light and shadows, and layers. ------------------------------------- Opening music: Brahms: Cello Sonatas, F-dur. Op.99:4, Allegro Molto. Mstislav Rostropovich/Rudolf Serkin. ------------------------------- Body music: Ravi Shankar, Bridges: Best of Private Music Recordings, "Sadhanipa", ft. Philip Glass!

=== Artwork, by amaraca Music by Johannes Brahms, from the album "Brahms - Cello Sonatas", F-dur Op.99-4. Allegro molto.

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Moralt Conductor Arthur Grumiaux Violin ================================ Related information: Allegro molto appassionato 12 -- 14 minutes The opening of the Violin ConcertoThe concerto opens with an almost immediate entry of the solo violin, instead of an orchestral tutti, with the very tune in E minor that gave Mendelssohn no peace.[10] Following a bravura of rapidly descending notes, the opening theme is then restated by the orchestra.[8] There is then a frenetic chromatic transition passage[8] as the music subsides and modulates into a tranquil second subject theme in G major.[11] The melody is initially played by the woodwind with the soloist providing a pedal note on an open G string.[10] The tune is played by the solo violin itself before a short codetta ends the exposition section of the opening movement. The opening two themes are then combined in the development section, where the music builds up to the innovative cadenza, which Mendelssohn wrote out in full rather than allowing the soloist to improvise. [5] The cadenza builds up speed through rhythmic shifts from quavers to quaver-triplets and finally to semiquavers,[7] which require ricochet bowing from the soloist.[12] This serves as a link to the recapitulation, where the opening melody is played by the orchestra, accompanied by the continuing ricochet arpeggios by the soloist. During the recapitulation, the opening themes are repeated with the second theme being played in the E major before returning to E minor for the closing of the movement. The music gathers speed into the coda, which is marked 'Presto',[12] before a variant of the original chromatic transition passage ends the first movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Mendelssohn) Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto influenced the concertos of many other composers, who would use aspects of the concerto in their own.[10] This would lead to the concerto being regarded as one of the most plagiarised of all time.[1] For example, the unusual placement of the cadenza would inspire the violin concertos by Tchaikovsky where the cadenza is also placed before the recapitulation and Sibelius where the cadenza serves to extend the development section.[7] Following this concerto, it would also be very rare for a composer to leave a cadenza unwritten and left for the soloist to improvise as in the days of Mozart and Beethoven.[10] The linking of the three movements would also influence other concertos, an example being Liszt's Second Piano Concerto.[7] The concerto itself was an instant success, warmly received at its premiere and well received by contemporary critics.[14] By the end of the nineteenth century, the piece was already considered one of the greatest violin concertos in the repertoire.[7] It would become one of Mendelssohn's most popular pieces, and was still regularly performed, even when interest in his music declined in the early twentieth century.[4] In 1906, the year before his death, celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim told the guests at his 75th birthday party:[8] " The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven's. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart's jewel, is Mendelssohn's. " Joachim, who was nominally a pupil of Ferdinand David and Mendelssohn's protégé[11] gave one of the first performances of the concerto at the age of only 12.[8] Also Bruch and Brahms both dedicated their violin concertos to Joachim,[8] with Brahms even allowing Joachim to write his own cadenza which was no longer the norm at the time.[10] The work has developed a reputation as an essential work for all aspiring violin virtuosi to conquer.[15] This has led to the concerto becoming virtually ubiquitous in the discography of concert violinists, even including those who were only active at the very dawn of recorded sound and of whom very little recorded music exists, such as Eugène Ysaÿe.[16] Even so, the concerto is still technically challenging and is generally considered to be as difficult as many other famous counterparts.[17] Mendelssohn also wrote a violin concerto with strings in 1822, which was given its 20th century premiere in 1952 by Yehudi Menuhin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Mendelssohn) ================================ *Note:Support the artist, their families and their legacy by purchasing their music.