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Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Key	B minor
Opus	61
Period	Romantic
Genre	Concerto
Composed	1880
Movements	3
Scoring	Violin & Orchestra
Premiere
Date	October 15, 1880
Location	Hamburg
Conductor	Adolf Georg Beer
Performers	Pablo de Sarasate, Philharmonisches Orchester Hamburg

The Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, by Camille Saint-Saëns is a piece for violin and orchestra written in March 1880. Saint-Saëns dedicated the concerto to fellow composer-virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who performed the solo part at the premiere in October 1880 in Hamburg.^[1]

Even though the third violin concerto seems to impose fewer technical demands on the soloist than its predecessors, its melodic invention and impressionistic subtlety present significant interpretive challenges. This stress is most notable in the second movement and the chorale of the finale, which is reminiscent of the conclusion of the Fourth Piano Concerto.^[2] Possibly because of this, the Third Concerto along with the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, and the Havanaise, Op. 83 have endured as the major concertante works for violin by Saint-Saëns still heard regularly today.^[3]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin, 2 flutes/piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings.

Structure

1. Allegro non troppo

2. Andantino quasi allegretto

3. Molto moderato e maestoso- Allegro non troppo

Performed by Zino Francescatti and the New York Philharmonic, under the baton of Dimitri Mitropoulos

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The work is in three movements:

Allegro non troppo
Andantino quasi allegretto
Molto moderato e maestoso – Allegro non troppo

A performance of the whole piece takes around 28 minutes.

Selected recordings

Zino Francescati, violin, The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Recorded 1950. CD Sony 1996
Arthur Grumiaux, violin, Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, conductor Jean Fournet. LP Philips 1957
Nathan Milstein, violin, The Philharmonia Orchestra, dir. Anatole Fistoulari. LP Columbia Emi 1962
Arthur Grumiaux, violin, Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, conductor Manuel Rosenthal. Recorded 1963. CD Classic best 1200, 2016
Henrik Szeryng, violin, Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, conductor Édouard Van Remoortel. Recorded 10/1969. CD Philips 1988
Zino Francescatti, violin, New York Philharmonic, conductor Pierre Boulez. CD Lyrinx ( live recording 16/12/1975)
Pierre Amoyal, violin, New Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor Vernon Handley. CD Erato 1977
Ulf Hoelscher, violin, Complete Violin Concertos (n°1, n°2, n°3), , New Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor Pierre Dervaux. Recorded 1977 for EMI. Reissued by Brilliant Classics 2012
Joshua Bell, violin, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conductor Charles Dutoit. CD Decca 1989
Isaac Stern, violin, Orchestre de Paris, conductor Daniel Barenboim. CD Sony 1995
Pierre Amoyal, violin, Orchestre National de France, conductor Charles Dutoit. CD Decca 1995
Chee-Yun, violin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Jesús López-Cobos. CD Denon 1997
Stefan Tönz, violin, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conductor Sir Neville Mariner. CD Novalis 1998
Philippe Graffin, violin, Complete Violin Concertos (n°1, n°2, n°3),, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conductor Martyn Brabbins. CD Hyperion 1998
Itzhak Perlman, violin, Orchestre de Paris, conductor, Daniel Barenboim. CD DG 2006
Fanny Clamagirand, violin, Complete Violin Concertos (n°1, n°2, n°3), Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskilä, conductor Patrick Gallois. CD Naxos 2009
Renaud Capuçon, violin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conductor Lionel Bringuier. CD Erato 2013
Andrew Wan, violin, Complete Violin Concertos (n°1, n°2, n°3), Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conductor Kent Nagano. CD Analekta 2015

References

^ Ratner, Sabina Teller (2002). Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835–1922: A Thematic Catalogue of his Complete Works, Volume 1: The Instrumental Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 374–378. ISBN 978-0-19-816320-6.
^ Fallon, Daniel M.; Harding, James; Ratner, Sabina Teller (2001). "Saint-Saëns, (Charles) Camille". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
^ Vachon, Jean-Pascal. Liner notes to Tapiola Sinfonietta recording. (BIS-CD-1470)