At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was at the height of his creative powers. It was at that time that his best mature works appeared, including the Violin Concerto in A minor.
Alexander Konstantinovich embarked on the opus in 1904, and on February 19, 1905, the premiere of the Concerto took place at the eighth symphonic meeting of the Russian Musical Society. The composer himself conducted the orchestra. The soloist was an outstanding violinist, violin professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory Leopold Auer. His performance was especially symbolic, because it was to him that the composer had dedicated his outstanding Concerto.
The critics’ opinions about the premiere divided. For some, the Concerto fell short of their expectations of another virtuoso, brilliant composition, because the work had been written in a soft and lyrical manner, which especially manifested itself in the broad expressive melodism of the main themes. Others admired the integrity of the form and the innovations the composer had brought in.
The work is composed in a form unusual for the concerto genre. There exist different interpretations of it: some talk about single movement, others describe it as consisting of two movements, still others find signs of either traditional three-movement or even four-movement structure!
In the musical canvas, two large sections are clearly visible, following each other without interruption: the Moderato, written in sonata form, and the Finale, a brilliant, lively rondo with a refrain in the spirit of a French dance song. The first major section includes an independent lyrical episode, which as if replaces the slow movement of the familiar three-movement cycle.
Despite the lyrical spirit of the work, the composer provides a fair opportunity for the soloist to demonstrate his virtuoso capabilities. They are especially manifested in the solo cadenza (the soloist performs alone, without orchestral accompaniment, and reveals his technical skill). This is a kind of “the composer’s word”, his philosophical statement.
In Glazunov’s Concerto, the soloist and the orchestra are not rivals, as is customary by the law of the genre (from the Latin Concertare, “competition”), but perform in close cooperation and harmoniously complement each other, drawing a joint pattern.
Besides supporting the soloist, the orchestra continues to develop the themes the composer has outlined, thus forming a light, transparent texture, rich in polyphonic elements. The miniature scherzo fugato of the first major section receives a special emphasis.
Combining the lyrical expressiveness of the music with the mastery of form and texture, the Violin Concerto in A minor had quickly entered the repertoire of many musicians and won recognition among the public. One of its best performers was David Fyodorovich Oistrakh, a Soviet violinist, violist, conductor, and teacher.
Alexandra Vershinina