Violin Concerto in G major
No. 3 "Straßburg-Concert"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart in 1777
KeyG major
CatalogueK. 216
Composed1775 (1775)
MovementsThree (Allegro, Adagio, Rondeau)
Scoring
  • Violin
  • orchestra

The Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Salzburg in 1775 when he was 19 years old. In a letter to his father, Mozart called it the "Straßburg-Concert". Researchers believe this epithet comes from the motive in the third movement's Allegretto in the central section, a local dance that already had appeared as a musette-imitating tune in a symphony by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf.[1][2]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin, two flutes (second movement only), two oboes (tacet in the second movement), two horns in G and D, and strings.

Movements

The piece is in three movements:

I. Allegro

\relative c''' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \key g \major <g b, d,>4\f g4.\p fis16(g) fis(g) fis(g) | <d d,>4\f d4.\p cis16(d) cis(d) cis(d) | <b d, g,>4\f b4.\p c!8\trill d-![ e-!] | g,(fis) fis4-! r2 }

The Allegro is in sonata form, opening with a G major theme played by the orchestra. The main theme is a bright and happy discussion between the solo violin and the accompaniment, followed by a modulation to the dominant D major, then to its parallel key D minor. It experiments in other keys, but does not settle and eventually, heads back to the tonic, G major, in the recapitulation.

II. Adagio

\relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \key d \major \tempo 4 = 35 \partial 8 a'8-!\f fis8 (a d fis) e16 (d) d4 \appoggiatura e32 d16 cis32 b32 b16 (a) a4 \tuplet 3/2 {a16 (b g)} g4 (fis8) d'\p \appoggiatura cis16 b8-! b8-! \appoggiatura b16 a8-! a-! gis4 (g) fis}

The second movement is in ternary form in the dominant key of D major. The orchestra begins with the main theme, which the violin imitates one octave higher. The winds then play a dance-like motif in A major, which the violin concludes. The violin restates the main theme in A major, although the melody features A sharp instead of A natural, creating a brief modulation to B minor. It soon modulates back to A major, then to the home key of D major through the main theme. After the cadenza, the violin plays the main theme again, thus concluding the movement in D.

This is the only movement in the five violin concertos by Mozart where a pair of flutes are used instead of oboes.

III. Rondeau

\relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \key g \major \time 3/8 \tempo 4 = 130 \appoggiatura d16 d'4\f c16 (a) g8-. g-. g-. \appoggiatura e16 e'4 c16 (a) fis8-. fis-. fis-. g (d) b'-! a (d,) c'-! b (d,) d'-! b4 (a8) }

The finale is a rondo in G major and in 3
8 time. Mozart inserts into the rondo a short G minor Andante section followed by a longer G major Allegretto section, both in cut time.[3]

Notable recordings

Year Violin Conductor Orchestra Record company Format
1935 Yehudi Menuhin George Enescu Orchestre symphonique de Paris EMI Records Multiple
1962 Arthur Grumiaux Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra Philips Records Vinyl[4]
1969 Henryk Szeryng Alexander Gibson New Philharmonia Orchestra Philips Records Multiple
1971 David Oistrakh David Oistrakh Berlin Philharmonic EMI Records Multiple
1983 Itzhak Perlman James Levine Vienna Philharmonic Deutsche Grammophon Multiple
1984 Anne-Sophie Mutter Herbert von Karajan Berlin Philharmonic Deutsche Grammophon Multiple
1987 Takako Nishizaki Stephen Gunzenhauser Cappella Istropolitana Naxos Records CD[5]
1989 Franco Gulli Bruno Giuranna Orchestra da Camera di Padova e del Veneto Claves CD
2007 Hilary Hahn Gustavo Dudamel Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon Multiple
2016 Isabelle Faust Giovanni Antonini Il Giardino Armonico Harmonia Mundi CD
2021 Viktoria Mullova Oliver Zeffman Academy of St Martin in the Fields Platoon Digital

References

  1. ↑ Lempfrid, Wolfgang. "Wolfgng Amadeus Mozart: Konzert für Violine und Orchester in D-Dur, KV 218" (in German). koelnklavier.de. Retrieved 30 July 2019., EMI CD booklet contribution
  2. ↑ Steinberg, Michael (1998). The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. Oxford University Press. pp. 324–325. ISBN 978-0-19-513931-0.
  3. ↑ Irving, John. "Liner notes" (PDF). BIS Records. Retrieved 29 March 2017. – Richard Tognetti – Australian Chamber Orchestra – Violin Concertos 3 & 5
  4. ↑ "Mozart – Arthur Grumiaux – The London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis – Violin Concerto No. 3 In G Major, K.216; Violin Concerto No. 5 In A Major K.219". Discogs.
  5. ↑ "Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 / Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major". Naxos. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
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