A Concerto Like No Other

Premieres are not necessarily auspicious events. That certainly seemed to be the case for the debut of Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D Minor — the composer’s only concerto.

The piece, which Sibelius conducted in 1904 in Helsinki, was so technically difficult for the soloist that the first performance was considered a disaster. As a result of the poor opening, Sibelius, a violinist of considerable skill himself, revisited the piece and made significant revisions. The new version, which is now the standard version, premiered in 1905 under composer Richard Strauss and the Berlin Court Orchestra. Sibelius did not attend.

Interestingly enough, the world did not experience the original piece again until the early 1990s, when Sibelius' heirs allowed for one live performance and one recording. Many believe the standard version, which is more widely played today, is better. For this version, Sibelius tightened the overall structure and reduced the duration by several minutes. Violist William Hagen will be tackling this version with us at the Oct. 22 concert.