The “Third Style” (more to follow)
© Martin Wulfhorst 2021
Simply put, concerto composers of the 19th century had two main options: writing in the vein of the fashionable, shallow virtuosic concertos or following the path of Beethoven or Brahms, who placed compositional substance above virtuosic display (see Wulfhorst, "Violine - Musik für Violine." Metzler-Sachlexikon Musik, Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 1998, pp. 1127-32). A small group of violinists-cum-composers tried to forge a “third style”—a combination of violinistic virtuosity and compositional substance. Major works representing this strain included some of Spohr’s Violin Concertos, Wieniawski’s Concerto no. 2, and several of Vieuxtemps’s Concertos, notable nos. 4 and
Henry Vieuxtemps • Cadenzas to Beethoven’s Violin Concerto
© Martin Wulfhorst 2021