Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor | Julia Fischer, Dresden Philharmonic & Michael Sanderling

We don’t know whether the angels in Heaven rejoice when Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 is played. But this performance of the classic work certainly pleases the ear of mortals: Julia Fischer plays solo violin, accompanied by the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Sanderling. The concert took place in April 2017 in the Kulturpalast Dresden.

(00:00) I. Allegro molto appassionato
(12:57) II. Andante
(20:58) III. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 – 1847) — also known simply as Felix Mendelssohn — is said to have been an accomplished violinist, along with his exceptional skills as a composer, pianist, organist and conductor. This musical wunderkind was encouraged from an early age and, as a twelve-year-old, composed his Violin Concerto in D minor. But he later discarded that bit of juvenilia, which is why it now has no opus number. In 1838, having long become a celebrated star, Mendelsson Bartholdy decided to once again try his hand at composing a violin concerto. He wrote to his friend, violinist and composer Ferdinand David (1810 – 1873), that he wanted to write a violin concerto in E minor for him, and that its introductory melody gave him no peace. David responded eagerly to this announcement and promised to learn the concerto so well that the angels in Heaven would rejoice.

However, it took nearly seven years before David could premiere the Violin Concerto in E minor that had been written for him. Mendelssohn Bartholdy completed his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra during his vacation in the German spa resort of Soden in September of 1844. In May of that year, Mendelssohn had conducted a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770 – 1827) Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 in London — with the then-12-year-old Joseph Joachim as solo violinist. Mendelssohn was perhaps inspired by the Beethoven concert to complete his own violin concerto. The premier performance of his Violin Concerto Op. 64 eventually took place in Leipzig on March 13, 1845, with Ferdinand David on violin, accompanied by the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester. The audience reacted to the concert with great enthusiasm.

Formally, the Violin Concerto is classicistic in style, but it also exhibits early Romantic characteristics. The three movements are clearly delineated, but flow seamlessly into one another. The first movement does not begin with a typical orchestral introduction; rather, the violin begins the melodious, distinctive theme in the second bar. Perhaps this was the theme Mendelssohn had written to his friend about back in 1838. The cadenza is not located at the end of the first movement, as is usually the case, but at the end of the development (07:13). The second movement is dominated by a highly romantic melody, which is certainly one of the most beautiful melodies the German composer ever wrote. In the third movement, the main theme is lively and memorably light. Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Violin Concerto in E minor is certainly one of the most beautiful of its kind and is part of the standard repertoire of every violin virtuoso.

Julia Fischer was born in Munich in 1983 to German-Slovakian parents. She received her first lessons on the violin at the age of three. A short time later, her mother, pianist Viera Fischer, introduced her daughter to the piano. At the age of nine, Julia Fischer began studying with renowned violin professor Ana Chumachenco at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. She succeeded Chumachenco in 2011, thereby coming full circle. Fischer began touring internationally at the age of 15. She has performed with the world’s greatest orchestras, recorded numerous albums and won prestigious prizes including the Gramophone Classical Music Award and the BBC Music Magazine Award. As if solo performances with ensembles weren’t enough, Fischer is also a brilliant chamber musician. Along with violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, violist Nils Mönkemeyer and cellist Benjamin Nyffenegger, she founded the Julia Fischer Quartet in 2012. Fischer plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1742) as well as a new one by Philipp Augustin (2018).

© 2018 Accentus Music

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