Concerto for violin and orchestra #2 in B minor

 Hi all 🙂

As a new born violonist (started the instrument in october 2024), I thought I would give it a chance at composing a concerto for violin and orchestra with my humble technical skills knowledge (far from pushing the instrument to its limits 😉).

Here it is.

Three movements : allegro moderato / lento / allegro.

There are various themes inside, main ones being :

• Theme 1 : enunciated straight at the opening (bars 1-4), it's developed further by various sections as well as by the soloist under several forms,
• Theme 2 : appears first bars 219 to 225 at the end of the first movement, then in second and third movements under several forms
• Theme 3 : bars 31 to 71 in second movement, then reappears in the conclusion of the concerto at the end of the third movement.

Other leitmotivs (don't know if it's the appropriate term) emerge throughout the piece.

The third movement is an allegro but strongly slows down at the end for a quiet, peacefull, opened ending mainly reusing colors from the second lento movement.

In the attached pdf score :

• Allegro moderato : page 1
• Lento : page 69
• Allegro : page 102

Here's the video (let me know if it's better that I attach MP3s) :

0:00 : Allegro moderato

8:32 : Lento

15:57 : Allegro

(timeline also in the description of the video)

Best regards 🙂 

Marc

Hello,
I think it's a huge undertaking.
In particular, it's very well structured and the themes develop and evolve smoothly and beautifully.
To me, it sounds like late classical or early romantic music. The solo violin part isn't particularly complicated (virtuoso).
There are some things that strike me as rather strange.
For example, the tessitura where the timpani appears is excessively high, although it seems to sound where it should (so I gather it is a question of notation).
Sometimes the horn acts as a “bass” in a very (too much, I think) deep tessitura... when you have other instruments available.
The indication Qleg (quasi legato?) appears in many places where it makes no sense (with separate notes and staccato).
There is a tendency (logical at certain stages of one's training in orchestration) to use strings predominantly.
In moments with orchestral weight, I think the bass (double bass) needs to be doubled, as it is what the ear hears least.

On the other hand, when parts are played where sections are separated (wind or strings), the counterpoints can be heard very well.

Good work.

Hi @Luis Hernández,

Thanks a lot for your review 🙂 

I know I don't review a lot in those pages, but I'd think I'd go strangle myself if this one wouln't get any, with the amount of efforts I put in 😄 

Late classical/early romantic is exactly the period I point out - if needed - to situate the style of my music.

About the timpani, it's a limitation of the virtual instruments I use, they propose distinct sonorities at various tessituras, so I was forced to raise the notation.

"Qleg" is just a markpoint for playback rendering (it triggers a VST articulation), it's got nothing to do with the presence or not of legato around 🙂 

So for this two points I didn't make the effort of preparing the exact "real life" score for orchestra, I apologize for this.

I'm interested, which instrument would you choose as possible substitute for the horn when playing bass notes ?

I must agree I'm most familiar with strings orchestration than with other instruments'.

Thanks again, have a good day.

Marc

Apologies, it's just that I'm very “meticulous” and I like to leave the scores as “clean” as I can.
One thing I learned about orchestration is that the bass, apart from being essential for setting the harmony and rhythm at times, is what the human ear perceives the least, since our ears are tuned to mid-range frequencies and also reacts immediately to high frequencies.
Therefore, especially when the orchestra becomes denser, it is advisable to reinforce the bass.
The usual practice is to double the double basses with cellos, in unison or an octave. The double bass can play only the strong notes in pizzicato and the cellos can play sustained notes. You can also add the bassoon to your ensemble, whose low range is more comfortable.
The timpani can also reinforce the bass at times.
And then there are other instruments that are not in this style: the tuba, par excellence. And others such as the contrabassoon, bass trombone, etc.