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3 rare violin concerto's last half year: Schumann, Britten + Barber

Bram Heemskerk

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Published: August 2, 2014 at 10:58 AM [UTC]

I played last half year 3 rare violin concerto's in amateurorchestra's. Schumann and Barber for the 1st time Barber for the 2nd in my life. I earlier wrote about that Barber violin concerto
I got the chance to play with my old student orchestra after 20 years Britten as 2nd violin and with an orchestra in the neighborhood as 1st violin Schumann. The Schumann-soloist is AnneBeth Webb, who is 2nd violinist in the
ConcertGebouw Orchestra, the best orchestra in the Netherlands and quite well known after their worldtour because they exist 125 year (I heard them in Paris when I was there with my brother). After the choffeebreak she played as 2nd violin our symphonie of Mozart. I said to her as a joke: This was
your chance to play 1st violin (of course not much honour in a very average amateurorchestra). I thought she must laugh about my joke, but serious she said: "I don't need to play the 1st violin." But her attitude is great, because solists often leave after the coffeebreak or seldom take time to listen to the symphony. She likes the atmosphere with amateurs a lot and therefore played the symphony and amateurs give her the chance to play violin concerto's. Schumann she had studied with her teacher Kantorow. This was the 3th time she played solo with this orchestra.
Here a version of Zimmerman and Janine Jansen is an advocate of the violin concerto of Britten, which has become iron repertoire because you can choose it for the final in the Hannover violin competition



Now I see that finalists also can play Schumann in the final of
the Joseph Joachim Competition in Hannover
and NOT the 1st 2nd or 3th violin concerto of Joseph Joachim that must be obligatory. I have played all obligatory violin concerto's except Shos op 77 in amateurorchestra's
Bartók (Sz 112)
Beethoven (op. 61)
Brahms (op. 77)
Britten (op. 15)
Bruch (op. 26)
Dvorák (op. 53)
Lalo (op. 21)
Mendelssohn (op. 64)
Prokofiev (op. 19)
Prokofiev (op. 63)
Shostakovich (op. 77)
Schumann (1853)
Sibelius (op. 47)
Stravinsky (1931)
Tchaikovsky (op. 35)


From Trevor Jennings
Posted on August 2, 2014 at 10:14 PM
Many years ago Yehudi Menuhin played a concerto in a cathedral in the West of England, the composer Vaughan Williams conducting. After the concert interval Menuhin joined the orchestra for the symphonic second half, slipping unobtrusively into a seat at the back of the second violins; perhaps sight-reading the music, who knows. Afterwards, a slightly puzzled Vaughan Williams, shaking his head, was heard to remark that he could have sworn he saw Yehudi Menuhin playing in the orchestra.
From Kate Little
Posted on August 2, 2014 at 10:18 PM
Thank you Bram. I enjoy the pieces which you share.

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