Wednesday, February 19, 2025 (Ann Arbor, MI) — Now recognised as a staple of the violin repertoire and one of the most widely performed works of its kind, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 did not enjoy a warm reception at its premiere.
The concerto was born from a period of personal growth and new beginnings for the composer, still fresh off his disastrous marriage to former pupil Anastasia Khvostova, “a woman with whom I am not the least in love.” For Tchaikovsky, respite from the fiasco meant a trip to Clarens, Switzerland. A charming resort town nestled on the banks of Lake Geneva, Clarens provided the perfect spot to escape from public humiliation and restore ideal conditions for creative inspiration.
During this time, Tchaikovsky had become enamored with French composer Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, a buoyant work for violin and orchestra that had made a significant impression in musical circles at a time when Spanish-inspired music was very much in vogue. Inspired by his contemporaries and his bucolic surroundings, work progressed swiftly on Tchaikovsky’s concerto, and the entire work was complete within a month.
Tchaikovsky was not a violinist, and so he leant heavily on the advice and technical counsel of his pupil Iosif Kotek, a noted performer who was almost certainly romantically involved with the composer. Kotek provided suggested idiomatic passages that suited the violin’s unique characteristics; managing the composer’s ambitious artistic expectations while allowing the solo instrument to shine in its very best light.
Despite Kotek’s key involvement, Tchaikovsky felt compelled to dedicate the work to the eminent Hungarian pedagogue Leopold Auer, a highly influential figure who’s blessing and performance agreement—if secured—would almost certainly guarantee a positive reception for a new work. Auer, however, pushed back, making a series of unsolicited changes to the solo part, and claiming that he was caught off guard by the dedication:
“Warmly as I had championed the symphonic works of the young composer (who was at that time not universally recognized), I could not feel the same enthusiasm for the Violin Concerto, with the exception of the first movement; still less could I place it on the same level as his purely orchestral compositions. I am still of the same opinion.”
Auer’s dismissal wreaked havoc on Tchaikovsky’s plans for the premiere, and the deeply offended composer re-dedicated the work to Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky. An accomplished and respected performer, Brodsky nevertheless was no Auer when it came to leverage within the conservative musical circles of the time. The press, sniffing out that something was awry, panned the concerto’s first performance in Vienna on December 4, 1881. For the illustrious critic Eduard Hanslick, the concerto was “long and pretentious”, “odorously Russian”, and claimed that the violin “was not played but beaten black and blue.”
Despite its inauspicious beginnings, the concerto would attain immense popularity in the decades to follow. While initially the subject of derision, its unabashedly Russian themes—particularly in the final movement—have become noted attributes, and the fearsome technical challenges thrown the performer’s way have elevated the work as one of the so-called “warhorses” of the repertoire.
Even in spite of his earlier misgivings, Leopold Auer eventually acknowledged the concerto’s success: “… The concerto has made its way in the world, and after all, that is the most important thing. It is impossible to please everybody.”
On February 22, 2025, acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw will take the stage at the Michigan Theater to solo in Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, joined by Music Director Earl Lee and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. As part of the orchestra’s February MainStage event, the concert will also include GRAMMY award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery’s Overture and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. Seats can be reserved by visiting www.a2so.org/24-25-february-mainstage or by calling (734) 994-4801, and discounts are available for students, children, and groups of 10 or more.
Concert details:
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Saturday, February 22 2025 (8 PM) — The Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Earl Lee, conductor and Music Director
Jessie Montgomery: Overture
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
(734) 994-4801
www.a2so.org