Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Serenade No.2, En saga

Julian Rachlin (Violin)

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Lorin Maazel

Although he first learnt the piano, little ‘Janne’ Sibelius showed far greater interest in the violin. Taught in his youth by a military bandmaster, he loved to take the instrument with him on summer trips and improvise in the open air. As he said, ‘The violin carried me away entirely; the wish to become a great violinist was to be my greatest desire, my proudest ambition.’ So Sibelius had no need to consult a professional violinist on technical matters – as Mendelssohn and Brahms had done – when he wrote his Violin Concerto in 1903. But problems with the choice of soloist meant the work had a difficult start in life. The premiere was not an unqualified success, and Sibelius decided to revise the concerto. The new version was introduced in 1905 in Berlin under Richard Strauss, with Karel Halíř as soloist. Nonetheless, the work was eventually dedicated to the young virtuoso Franz von Vecsey, who went on to perform it in Vienna. The present recording dates from 1992, and couples the concerto with the familiar tone poem En saga and the seldom heard Serenade Op.69 No.2 for violin and orchestra, the bouncing rhythm of its middle section reminiscent of the first theme of the Violin Concerto’s finale.