String instruments > Violin and Piano
Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky
Violin Concerto D major op. 35
Editor: Ernst Herttrich
Piano reduction: Johannes Umbreit
Fing. vn: Kurt Guntner
38.95 $
Urtext Edition, paperbound
with marked and unmarked string parts
orchestral material available from Breitkopf & Härtel
Pages: 137 (X, 65, 31, 31), Size 23,5 x 31,0 cm
Order no. HN 685 · ISMN M-2018-0685-3
Level of difficulty (Violin): difficult (Level 9)
Eduard Hanslick, a much feared critic in his time, was not very complimentary following its première: the violin was no longer being played but rather “pulled about, torn asunder, beaten black and blue”. Yet he was not able to stop the triumphal march of Tschaikowsky’s only violin concerto. Its incredible technical demands have meant that it is a true test of virtuosity. Its effectivenessis, however, mainly due to its great expressiveness – are there any violinists who do not love the lyrical melancholic “Canzonetta”? – and due to its Slavic temperament. At last and indeed for the first time this milestone in the violinist’s repertoire is now available in a text-critical edition, which is true to its original form.
Audio example: Nathan Milstein
Deutsche Grammophon 028947787778GH
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Reviews
After many subsequent editions, notably those by Auer, Kreisler and Oistrakh, this splendid co-production takes into account all surviving sources of this epoch-making concerto and critically evaluates them.
[Stringendo AUSTA, 2013]
Gleichwohl bietet die Ausgabe den wohl gegenwärtig besten Notentext des Werks und macht mit einer Fülle von sehr interessanten Varianten vertraut, die nun problemlos studiert werden können.
[Das Orchester, 2012]
Endlich und erstmals liegt nun auch dieser Meilenstein der Violinliteratur in einer textkritischen Ausgabe vor, die seiner ursprünglichen Gestalt gerecht wird.
[Neue Musikzeitung, 2008]
Die Einrichtung durch Kurt Guntner ist ebenfalls optisch sehr ansprechend, da vor allem nicht überladen. Und liest man beispielsweise die Fingersätze, die Guntner vorschlägt, so ist man verblüfft, ob der logischen Stringenz, mit der sie zu den einzelnen Passagen passen.
[Liebhaberorchester, 2007]
In presenting this urtext, Henle offers no such changes and also steers clear of the more romantic reading inherent in Oistrakh’s fingering suggestions. … The whole history of the concerto and its origins are extensively discussed in the Preface while the Critical Comments detail all markings and differences from the sources. … The violin part is faithful to the composer’s original intentions and is a welcome addition to the existing array.
[Stringendo, 2006]
The new Henle edition of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a welcome addition to the existing array of versions, offering an interesting perspective on this ever-popular work. … The editorial comments are concise, helpful and meticulously researched, and the piano edition, taken from Tchaikovsky’s original violin-piano version as well as the much later score, offers a practical reading.
[The Strad, 2006]
Pour la première fois ici, l’œuvre est publiée dans une édition critique prenant en compte sa forme originale.
[Crescendo, 2006]
The levels of difficulty of the
music for violin published by G. Henle Publishers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| easy | medium | difficult | ||||||
The levels of difficulty of the violin music published by G. Henle Publishers
| Level | Degree | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | easy | Beethoven, 6 German Dances WoO 42 |
| 2 | Beethoven, Rondo G major WoO 41 |
|
| 3 | Mozart, Violin Sonata F major KV 547 |
|
| 4 | medium | Haydn, Violin Concerto A major Hob. VIIa:3 |
| 5 | Bach, Violin Concerto a minor BWV 1041 |
|
| 6 | Brahms, Violin Sonata G major op. 78 |
|
| 7 | difficult | Paganini, No. 9 from Capricci op. 1 |
| 8 | Beethoven, Violin Concerto D major op. 61 |
|
| 9 | Berg, Violin Concerto |
I have assigned all of the violin music in G. Henle Publishers' catalogue a level of difficulty, ranging from "very easy" to "very difficult". The model for this was the evaluation system with nine levels developed for Henle's piano catalogue by Rolf Koenen. Unlike the works for solo piano, I have decided against evaluations that lie between two levels (e.g. 4/5 or 7/8).
This kind of attempt will always be "relative" to some degree. While the work remains the work, what is relative is the technical and musical ability of the player. Let us take a look at Mozart, for example, from the perspective of an Arthur Grumiaux and from that of a very young pupil. It is clear to whom my levels of difficulty are addressed: to the pupils or their teacher. I have, of course, always endeavoured to objectively assess the purely technical level of difficulty. But everything "between the lines" is, of course, left up to the judgement of each individual musician. Depending on our abilities, we perceive the "difficulty" of a work for violin differently, yet with the same conviction.
At the start, categorizing violin literature into levels of difficulty from 1 to 9 seemed to carry a certain risk as well as being unknown territory, yet I have now gained a deep insight into all of the works for violin in G. Henle Publishers' catalogue.
Ernst Schliephake © 2013