Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Erik Bergman
Violin Concerto (1982)
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz for the Rheinland-Pfälzische Musiktage
Dedicated to Hannele Segerstram
Programme Note
The first movement opens with faint rustling sounds in the percussion and undefined strokes on the violin strings. A single note emerges from which the musical material is gradually developed by the solo violin and soloists from the orchestra in alternation. The movement grows organically through various phases, illuminated by different sections of the orchestra, while the solo violin is thrown into violent exchanges with the groups of instruments and, finally, the whole orchestra. The movement ends with a sudden climax.
The second movement opens with a broad cantilena on the solo violin against a background of etouffé harp notes like waterdrops and muted, later pizzicato, strings. Elements from the first movement are reintroduced and controlled improvisation is pitted against a strongly-defined rhythm. The movement is virtuoso in character, above all for the soloist. Before the final climax there is an irrational, pianissimo, passage in which the soloist shows off various playing techniques – trills, double-stopped harmonics and harmonics in the highest register. The work concludes with an ecstatic furioso.
© Erik Bergman
The second movement opens with a broad cantilena on the solo violin against a background of etouffé harp notes like waterdrops and muted, later pizzicato, strings. Elements from the first movement are reintroduced and controlled improvisation is pitted against a strongly-defined rhythm. The movement is virtuoso in character, above all for the soloist. Before the final climax there is an irrational, pianissimo, passage in which the soloist shows off various playing techniques – trills, double-stopped harmonics and harmonics in the highest register. The work concludes with an ecstatic furioso.
© Erik Bergman