SKU: BR.SON-433

ISBN 9790004802892. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's violin concerto op. 64 had - like many of his other works - a lengthy genesis: it is in the summer of 1838 that surviving documents first mention the promise made to his friend Ferdinand David, concert master of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, to write, besides a sonata, a grand solo concerto for him. Ultimately, work on this opus continued - with some longer interruptions - until September 1844. Even then, it owed its preliminary completion in no small measure to the constant urging of the prospective solo violinist. But after the ,,official handing-over of the parts to David and a first joint rehearsal of the concert in Leipzig Mendelssohn continued working on the score. There subsequently began an intensive correspondence with David between Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main, where Mendelssohn resided with his family, in particular concerning issues of the principal part and the reworking of the solo cadence. In March 1845 the then current version of the work was premiered in a subscribers' concert in Leipzig.This volume deals with Mendelssohn's first complete manuscript of the score with the corrections contained therein, including all surviving drafts and sketches; also included is the epistolary evidence of the correspondence with Ferdinand David prior to the premiere. The further developments up to the printing of the main version of op. 64 by Breitkopf & Hartel are dealt with in Series II, Vol. 7 of the edition.

SKU: BR.EB-9374

ISBN 9790004188446. 9 x 12 inches.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy created a standard work with his final violin concerto in E minor op. 64 MWV O 14 that is now firmly established in today's concert repertoire. When in 1838 the composer indicated that he had in mind a violin concerto [...] in E minor [...], it was not only his friend Ferdinand David, the Gewandhaus concertmaster for whom it was intended, who was euphoric. The whole civilized violin world was awaiting this concerto - and yet it was another seven years before the much-anticipated composition was ultimately published by the Leipzig publishing house Breitkopf & Hartel in June 1845, as well as simultaneously in London and Milan. The concerto particularly appeals through its innovative treatment of the solo part, not only because the solo violin strikingly opens the first movement without a preceding orchestral tutti, but also because of its musical dialogue with the orchestra. The Leipzig Gewandhaus premiere on 13 March 1845 with Ferdinand David as soloist under the direction of Nils Wilhelm Gade served - as so frequently with Mendelssohn - virtually as a proofreading process. After the composer subsequently made extensive changes that also involved David, the work first appeared just short of nine months later. The first edition documents the composer's valid final revision, which is reproduced as the work's main version in the present Urtext edition. The matching piano reduction includes not only an unmarked string part, but also a part with the established markings by Igor Oistrach.

SKU: BR.OB-5645-15

ISBN 9790004344729. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy created a standard work with his final violin concerto in E minor op. 64 MWV O 14 that is now firmly established in today's concert repertoire. When in 1838 the composer indicated that he had in mind a violin concerto [...] in E minor [...], it was not only his friend Ferdinand David, the Gewandhaus concertmaster for whom it was intended, who was euphoric. The whole civilized violin world was awaiting this concerto - and yet it was another seven years before the much-anticipated composition was ultimately published by the Leipzig publishing house Breitkopf & Hartel in June 1845, as well as simultaneously in London and Milan. The concerto particularly appeals through its innovative treatment of the solo part, not only because the solo violin strikingly opens the first movement without a preceding orchestral tutti, but also because of its musical dialogue with the orchestra. The Leipzig Gewandhaus premiere on 13 March 1845 with Ferdinand David as soloist under the direction of Nils Wilhelm Gade served - as so frequently with Mendelssohn - virtually as a proofreading process. After the composer subsequently made extensive changes that also involved David, the work first appeared just short of nine months later. The first edition documents the composer's valid final revision, which is reproduced as the work's main version in the present Urtext edition.The matching piano reduction includes not only an unmarked string part, but also a part with the established markings by Igor Oistrach.

SKU: BA.BVK01950

ISBN 9783761819500. 19 x 12.5 cm inches. Language: German. Preface: Tarkmann, Andreas N.

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto op. 64, is a key work of the 19th century, adhering to the classical style of Beethoven while pointing the way to the romantic ethos of Brahms. It has long been known that Mendelssohn performed the work with three soloists in succession: Ferdinand David, who worked closely with the composer during its composition and played it at the premiere; the 'child prodigy' Joseph Joachim; and Hubert Leonard, a young Belgian virtuoso about whom little is known.

As proof sheets for the Violin Concerto in E minor were long considered lost, it could be described as somewhat of a sensation when proofs for the solo violin part resurfaced together with a letter from Mendelssohn to Leonard.

The letter informs us that the composer invited Leonard to his home in Frankfurt in order to make his acquaintance. It was already known that Mendelssohn had given proof sheets to David; now we know that he also gave some to Leonard.

The recently discovered proofs reveal how Leonard played the concerto with Mendelssohn on that memorable evening in February 1845. Besides containing bowing marks and fingering, they also show how Leonard executed shifts of position and where he employed open strings. Furthermore modifications made to dynamic markings and additional legato bowing are shown.

It is safe to assume that all of this was done with Mendelssohn's approval. That the young violinist made a positive impression on the composer is confirmed in the latter's correspondence following their joint performance. Mendelssohn is full of praise for Leonard's playing and offers to lend his support in finding employment in Germany.

This revised edition of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (only the orchestral parts remain unchanged) includes a separate booklet on performance practice.

The editor, Clive Brown, is an acknowledged expert on Romantic performance practice.

- New source situation owing to recently rediscovered proofs
- Revised Urtext edition
- With a separate booklet on performance practice (Eng/Ger).