Author Description

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, has always held a privileged position in the pantheon of 19th-century concerti for the instrument, where it ranks quite high, along with the familiar exemplars by Beethoven, Brahms, and a few others. Op. 64 has enjoyed too a secure position as one of Mendelssohn's most durable and popular works. A staple of generations of violinists, it exhibits readily those stylistic features usually identified with the composer -- the song-like lyricism of the second and elfin capriciousness of the third movements, for example, and, throughout the whole, the painterly attention to detail and delicate nuance, and carefully weighed balance between romantic expression and classical grace. - Introduction. In 1838 Felix Mendelssohn wrote to the violin virtuoso Ferdinand David informing him that he was working on a violin concerto "... the opening theme, one in E minor runs through my head and it gives me no peace"; the concerto in the state described by Mendelssohn to David was never published in a performing edition; it was only rediscovered in 1988. One would think that such an important work would be adequately represented in modern editions true to the sources. Alas, not even the score used today represents the orchestral parts Mendelssohn saw to print in 1845, but one heavily edited in the 1860s by Julius Rietz for the Mendelssohn Complete Edition. For the Bärenreiter Urtext edition, the Mendelssohn specialist R. Larry Todd has edited both the original version of the concerto as well as the later version known today. The first version of the concerto calls for the soloist to perform the orchestral tuttis, contains a shorter cadenza by Mendelssohn, many solo violin pitches in different octaves, passages with different orchestral scoring and many, many surprises regarding articulation and dynamics. The later version goes back to the first edition orchestral parts published in 1845 and the piano reduction sanctioned by Mendelssohn. Todd makes use of all known sources including the letters between Mendelssohn and David as well as Mendelssohn and the original publishers where general schemes as well as specifics of articulation were exchanged. This first ever Urtext edition of one of the most popular violin concertos in the repertoire finally gives performers the opportunity of playing just what Mendelssohn wrote. The Bärenreiter Urtext edition offers the two versions of op. 64 back to back in the score with an informative preface describing the genesis of the composition and a detailed critical commentary. - Publisher.