Frederick Delius - Violin Concerto (1916)

Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH (29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. He soon neglected his managerial duties and in 1886 returned to Europe.

Violin Concerto (1916)
Dedication for Albert Sammons

Ralph Holmes, violin and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley

Description by Joseph Stevenson [-]
A poetic, constantly unwinding stream of melody which is Delius's trademark is the predominant element of this music. It is rare that the whole orchestra plays. The tempo often changes, giving to the music a fluid, improvisatory feeling which is common in Delius. As a result, commentators often call this 1916 composition "rhapsodic, " which implies that it flows more or less at will and with little pre-planning. This is an illusion, fostered by Delius through hard work and rigorous control over musical materials. In fact, almost everything in it grows from the motto theme which appears in the opening two measures. Within this constantly-evolving structure, cast in a single twenty-five minute movement, are the outlines of a multi-movement form: the first section introduces and works out a succession of themes, the second movement is a slow unveiling of two more themes leading to an accompanied cadenza. Then the first part is recapitulated, at first literally and then adapted. A section corresponding to a finale is in the meter of an English country dance, but slows down for a reminder of the opening theme. It is exceptionally lovely music, although its lack of violent contrasts often misleads unwary listeners into missing its formal logic and concluding that it is amorphous in form. It tends to be fine, soothing music.