Miniature concerto for violin

Happy Autumn to all!

So... turns out, due to a miscommunication, I won't be writing a mini-bassoon concerto after all.
Instead they want me to write a miniature concerto for violin and chamber orchestra.

I've started sketching it out here; though I'm still at a very early stage.

I'm thinking three movements; though the time limit is 5 minutes total. 

No prizes for guessing which composer inspired this. (I think it's rather obvious!)

Those who guess the right answer can tell me if it's sounding too similar to the original work?

Am using the chord sequence function in MuseScore to sketch out my harmonies.

Only discovered this recently, and am finding it somewhat useful.

Wonder if anyone else has tried this out?

Apparently it works even better with Kontakt 7 and Sonuscore orchestral elements; but I haven't got round to installing those yet. 

Hey @Alex Weidmann!

I think I personally wouldn't use the chord sequence function in Musescore (if I was composing on the computer) because it would prevent me from trying to imagine what kind of stuff I could use to fill the sonic spaces of the music.  Also, later, when I would want to add more parts to the piece I would probably have become accustomed to the harmony and I'd become inflexible to use different harmonic/accompanimental ideas.  In general though, the reason why I prefer nowadays to write my music on paper is because I found that being able to immediately hear what I'm composing was not conducive to composing.  Like in creative writing - it's like the difference between the brainstorming or quick-writing mindset and the editing and proofreading mindset.  In the brainstorming or quick-writing mindset you just throw out all ideas no matter how bizarre or impractical - the goal is to just keep writing and keep the pencil moving.  In the editing and proofreading mindset you weed out all the little mistakes, grammar, punctuation, spelling etc.  If I compose music on the computer the two mindsets interfere with each other too much.  When I'm using Musescore I'm almost always already in the editing/proofreading mindset.  It's because hearing my music immediately puts me in that editing/proofreading mindset before I even have a chance to complete my musical thoughts as they were meant to be conceived.  It's distracting for me.  But this has turned into a rant.

I can't tell what piece this was inspired by - maybe something by Vivaldi or Bach?  Some of the melodic ideas are interesting!  The reason why I guessed Vivaldi or Bach is because of the Baroque-like sequences you employ in some parts.  But where's the soloist?  Thanks for sharing!

2 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

I can't tell what piece this was inspired by - maybe something by Vivaldi or Bach?

Good guess Peter! It was inspired by Vivaldi's famous A minor violin concerto (RV356).

I've even lifted a fragment of one phrase from it.

In that work, he frequently reinforces the violin solo line with the entire violin section: so you have an alternation of texture.

I haven't yet decided which phrases will be played solo: so I've left the whole part on the 1st violin section for now. (That was an additional clue this was based on Vivaldi!)

The concerto RV356 crams three movements into c.6 minutes: so I'm hoping to do the same thing with my piece.

The chord symbols can be used to create an arpeggiation in the low strings, along with all sorts of interesting preset textures using Sunuscore's Orchestral Elements. So that was my main reason for using them. (I've tested this out now, and it works quite well.)

It also allows the harmonies to be quickly and easily changed.

Theres a You Tube video all about it here, along with a score video of the Vivaldi: