Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 35, was written in 1945. In style it is thoroughly romantic, even in its opening hinting at the melodic contours of a Rachmaninov symphony, and,rightly or wrongly, it is difficult to dispel from the mind the image of this being music for the screen.
Nevertheless, within its own late romantic musical idiom, the concerto is a significant addition to violin repertoire. The soloist enters at once, before the music moves forward into more energetic material for the soloist, with recurrent reminders of the opening figure, with all its rhapsodic connotations.
There is a fiercely vigorous cadenza, with brief interruptionsfrom the orchestra, before the violin ascends to the heights, allowing the orchestra,then joined by the soloist, to complete the movement in a passage of some brilliance.
The slow movement Romanze offers an immediate contrast, with a poignant solo violin melody over a gentle orchestral accompaniment.
The mood changes at once with the lively finale, a movement with a distinctively rhythmic principal theme, with which more overtly romantic material forms acontrast.
There is a rapid, exciting and brilliant conclusion to the concerto, a wild dance that allows the soloist pyrotechnic display.
Here is violinist Hilary Hahn to play this concerto for you:
