Brahms Violin Concerto

Brahms’ violin concerto is one of the most difficult works for
any violinist to tackle. It is as virtuosic as the hardest piece
of Paganini as well as being as musically complex as a Brahms
symphony. It takes most violinists years or even decades to feel
comfortable with this piece, and many violinists consider it a
kind of Mount Everest. Why? What makes this piece so complex, and
yet so beautiful? What kind of choices do violinists make in
their interpretations? For today, I'm not only going to tell you
about this piece and how Brahms composed it, but I'm also going
to compare 3 different recordings of the piece(Heifetz, Oistrakh,
and Ferras) in order to show you the differences in
interpretations between these 3 titanic violinists. We'll also
talk about many of the topics we’ve covered before with Brahms;
continuous development, gorgeous melodies, and that amazing
Brahmsian quality of both respecting established forms while
constantly subtly subverting them. Let's start the climb together
and get to know this remarkable piece. Join us!