157:'s studio and play the movement for him. In a letter to Fels on December 14, Barber stated that he felt this test served as assurance that the movement was "practical and playable." Barber stated that he "worked very hard" on the last movement, finishing it "in far from ideal circumstances," and sent the violin part to Briselli about two months before the intended premiere. However, Briselli was disappointed when he received the third movement from Barber; according to Barber, his reasons were that "1st, he could not safely learn it for January; 2nd, it was not violinistic; 3rd, it did not suit musically the other two movements, it seemed to him rather inconsequential." He asked Barber if he would rewrite the finale to be premiered at a later date if necessary, suggesting ways to improve the movement such as expanding it into a sonata-rondo. Barber dismissed these suggestions and chose to keep his original finale, as he felt that he "could not destroy a movement in which I have complete confidence, out of artistic sincerity to myself," leading Briselli to give up his claim on the concerto. In the intended premiere performance, Briselli substituted
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146:"surgical operation", giving the reason that "he technical embellishments are very far from the requirements of a modern violinist" and that the piece was unsuitable in its present state for performance by Briselli. Meiff said that he would rewrite the violin part in the two completed movements, and suggested that the third movement be written "with a knowledge of the instrument."
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make for a successful performance." He criticized the finale in particular, stating that "t was a dangerous thought from the very beginning, to make a perpetual motion movement ...without a breath of rest and without melodic parts...a risky tiresome ending...it was a wrong idea, and Mr. Barber should admit this."
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technique best suited him; he told me he had no preference." Barber continues: "At that time, he did not apparently dislike the idea of a 'perpetual motion' for the last movement." However, Briselli's account was that he liked the first two movements very much but suggested a more virtuosic third movement.
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Historical
Society of Pennsylvania letters and an in-depth portrayal of the violinist, Iso Briselli linked to this violin concerto. Historical Society of Pennsylvania Letters from HSP helped solve this musical mystery. Read about it in this article from the Milkwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (see
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the same year as Barber, 1934. The Barber biographies written by Nathan Broder (1954) and
Barbara B. Heyman (1992) discuss the genesis of the concerto during the period of its commission and the subsequent year leading up to the first performance. Heyman interviewed Briselli and others familiar with
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The first movement—allegro molto moderato—begins with a lyrical first subject announced at once by the solo violin, without any orchestral introduction. This movement as a whole has perhaps more the character of a sonata than concerto form. The second movement—andante sostenuto—is introduced by an
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Meiff replied on
December 26 to a handwritten note from Fels with a lengthy two-page letter outlining to Fels, "point by point," the problems which he found with the piece, including that it "hasn't got enough backbone—not strong, not majestic—does not contain enough dramatic moments, all of which
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In mid-November, Briselli showed the two completed movements to his violin coach in New York City, Albert Meiff, who was immediately critical of the work from a violinistic standpoint. Meiff proceeded to write Fels a letter (November 13) in which he stated that the violin part had to undergo a
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In Barber's account, he continues that he gave
Briselli "the completed first two movements (about 15 minutes of music)" in "the middle of October" and "he seemed disappointed that they were not of virtuoso character--a bit too easy." Barber then says he asked Briselli "what type of brilliant
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to work on the concerto. Barber started working on the first two movements in
Switzerland during the summer of 1939. He hoped to complete the concerto in the early fall to meet the October 1st deadline, but his plans were interrupted due to
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the history in her publication. In late 2010, previously unpublished letters written by Fels, Barber, and Albert Meiff (Briselli's violin coach in that period) from the Samuel Simeon Fels Papers archived at the
134:. In late August, he went to Paris and then took a ship to the USA, arriving in early September. After spending a short time with his family in West Chester, PA, he continued his work on the concerto in the
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of the concerto for flute and orchestra was recorded and issued on the now defunct
Collins Classics label and later re-released on the Regis label with Jennifer Stinton as the soloist.
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Historical
Society of Pennsylvania letters and an in-depth portrayal of the violinist, Iso Briselli linked to this violin concerto, written and edited by conductor, Marc Mostovoy
188:, and from that point, the piece rapidly entered the standard violin and orchestral repertoire, and has become one of the most frequently performed of all 20th-century concertos.
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extended oboe solo. The violin enters with a contrasting and rhapsodic theme, after which it repeats the oboe melody of the beginning. The last movement, a
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Prior to sending the third movement to
Briselli, Barber (now teaching at the Curtis Institute) tested its playability by asking a Curtis student,
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in
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The piece was privately performed in early 1940 by Baumel with the Curtis
Institute Orchestra under
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Various correspondences of Fels, Barber, and Meiff quoted in the content and in-line cited:
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A detailed discography of Barber's works, including various versions of the Violin Concerto
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remains a celebrated romantic interpretation, while the 1988 recording by Meyers with the
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The concerto has been recorded and played by a number of violinists, including
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December 14, 1939 Letter from Barber to Fels—source-links 5,6 below
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magazine—November 1995 (Barber's Violin Concerto: The True Story)
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December 26, 1939 Letter from Meiff to Fels—source-links 7,8 below
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Barber provided these program notes for the premiere performance:
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November 13, 1939 Letter from Meiff to Fels—source-link 4 below
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May 4, 1939 Letter from Fels to Barber—source-link 3 below
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MSO, Almond to perform concerto with a controversial past
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372:"Curtis Institute of Music : View by Last Name"
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Graham Parlett, CD review on the Arnold Bax Website
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263:. The version made in 1964 by Stern with the
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66:Learn how and when to remove this message
29:This article includes a list of general
314:The concerto is scored for two each of
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97:In 1939, Philadelphia industrialist
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275:has been highly praised. A
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658:Symphony in One Movement
159:Dvořák's Violin Concerto
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121:Barber accepted Fels's
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816:Barber Violin Concerto
635:The School for Scandal
584:Prayers of Kierkegaard
178:Philadelphia Orchestra
109:, a graduate from the
265:New York Philharmonic
608:Antony and Cleopatra
553:List of compositions
665:Essay for Orchestra
823:Gian Carlo Menotti
789:Other compositions
651:Adagio for Strings
99:Samuel Simeon Fels
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229:Anne Akiko Meyers
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199:concert in 1943.
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380:. Retrieved
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253:Johan Dalene
225:Leonid Kogan
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170:Fritz Reiner
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132:World War II
125:and went to
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107:Iso Briselli
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261:Isaac Stern
245:Hilary Hahn
241:James Ehnes
233:Joshua Bell
127:Switzerland
48:introducing
874:Categories
726:Excursions
627:Orchestral
498:next link)
382:2012-07-10
358:References
344:snare drum
294:Presto in
257:Gil Shaham
203:Recordings
193:Eda Kersey
31:references
765:Capricorn
751:Concertos
616:Agnus Dei
484:The Strad
324:clarinets
176:with the
839:Category
767:Concerto
336:trumpets
328:bassoons
592:Vanessa
458:Sources
352:strings
340:timpani
291:Andante
288:Allegro
180:in the
123:advance
93:History
44:improve
850:Portal
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350:, and
334:, and
316:flutes
33:, but
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348:piano
332:horns
320:oboes
197:Proms
195:at a
283:Form
259:and
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