Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 10/28/2010, uploaded on 10/31/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Samuel Barber composed three concerti during his career—one for each of three main solo instruments: the piano, the violin, and the violoncello. With the sole exception of a now lost piano concerto composed in Barber’s early years, the Violin Concerto was his first foray into the grand tradition of the Romantic concerto. In 1939, the Philadelphia industrialist Samuel Fels commissioned the concerto from Barber for the violinist Iso Briselli, who was a fellow graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Barber responded enthusiastically, accepting Fels’s advance of $500, and immediately setting off to Switzerland to begin work on the concerto. Work proceeded quickly during that summer, and Barber had full intention of completing it by the October 1^st deadline he was given. However, the unsettled climate of Europe and the ever-growing threat of war inevitably became an unavoidable interruption. All Americans were warned to leave Europe and in August, Barber made a return voyage to the America by way of Paris. He returned home to West Chester, Pennsylvania where he was further interrupted by his father’s illness. However, he persisted and work progressed, albeit behind schedule, on the concerto.

In mid-October, Barber delivered the first two moments of the concerto to Briselli. From here, however, conflicting accounts obscure the history of the remainder of the work’s genesis. According to Briselli, he was enthusiastic about what Barber had completed so far. Barber, on the other hand, stated the Briselli was disappointed in the two movements, stating that they were too easy. Either way, Briselli requested that the finale indulge more in the virtuosity of the instrument. Perhaps bolstering Barber’s claim, Briselli’s coach, Albert Meiff, likewise thought them too easy, and planned to make several changes so as to allow Briselli a better chance to display his skill. Meiff even wanted to “coach” Barber while he composed the finale. When Barber did deliver the completed finale, Briselli was dissatisfied and objected to it on artistic grounds, stating that it seemed musically unfit compared to the two preceding movement. Barber, also made this point, but added that Briselli was unable to learn the movement before the planned premiere in January. In the end, Barber refused to give into Briselli’s objections, and the Briselli opted to perform the Dvorak concerto in its place in January.

Despite the failed premiere by Briselli, a private performance of the work by the violinist Herbert Baumel and pianist Josef Hofmann, which Barber intended as sort of “test run” to ensure the work’s playability, was attended by Mary Louise Curtis Bok (founder of the Curtis Institute) and led to a public performance by a friend of Mrs. Bok accompanied by the symphony orchestra of the Curtis Institute led by Fritz Reiner. This performance, in turn, captured the attention of Eugene Ormandy who later officially premiered the concerto with Albert Spalding and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1941. Following the premiere, Barber’s Violin Concerto quickly entered the standard repertoire is now one of the most frequently performed of 20^th-century concertos.    Joseph DuBose