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Masterclass: Leonidas Kavakos on Brahms Violin Concerto, first movement

2023-10-25T08:46:00

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Musical imagination, measured vibrato and a sense of thematic continuity are all essential to playing this celebrated work. From June 2014

This is a really symphonic piece. The violin part is the principal voice and has the main role, but the structure makes it totally symphonic. For instance in the first and second movements practically all the ideas, themes, motifs and moods have already been presented before the solo violin comes in. Rather than introducing the environment, the soloist is just joining it. This is the opposite of the Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Bartók, Berg and Sibelius concertos, and to me is proof that it is a symphonic work. 

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