Johannes Brahms composed this concerto for his friend and renowned violinist, Joseph Joachim. Many critics at the time claimed the music Brahms had written was too difficult as it included rapid broken chords, scales and double stops. Yet Brahms knew that Joachim was capable of playing it.
It was intended that the concerto would give the soloist a chance to shine as a virtuoso. This concerto features a cadenza at the end of the first movement; however, Brahms was one of the last composers to permit the soloist to improvise or create their own version. Soloists started to create cadenzas that were too long and this led composers to provide their own cadenzas. This change allowed composers to have control over the musical material performed.
Janine Jansen and the Munich Philharmonic bring us a dramatic, warm, and inspired interpretation as you can see and hear via the video below.
