Violin Concerto (Stravinsky) - Movements

Movements

  1. Toccata
  2. Aria I
  3. Aria II
  4. Capriccio

The same chord, each time in a different guise, is played at the beginning of each movement. The composer described this chord as "his 'passport' to that Concerto". Stravinsky first showed Dushkin this chord, which stretches from D4 to E5 to A6, one day early in 1931 while they were having lunch in a Paris restaurant. Dushkin at first thought that the chord was unplayable, and Stravinsky was disappointed. On returning home and trying it out on the violin, however, Dushkin was surprised to discover it was actually quite easy, and immediately telephoned the composer to say it could be played after all (Dushkin 1949,).

A typical performance of the concerto will last approximately 20 minutes.

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