Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, op.35

Following some persuasion from the violinist and fellow émigré Bronisław Huberman, he began to write his Violin Concerto, one of his best works. The concerto is written in post-romantic idiom, with bright, lush orchestration reminiscent of the “fin de siècle” Vienna One can easily encounter in it a number of quotes traceable to film music written by Korngold: the two main themes of the opening movement are taken from such films as The Other Dawn and Juarez, and in other movements there appear motifs from the movies Anthony Advers and The Prince and the Pauper. The concerto was dedicated to Alma Mahler, the widow of Gustav Mahler, the childhood mentor who had predicted great future to Korngold. The work was premiered on 15 February 1947 by Jascha Heifetz and the St. Louis Symphony under conductor Vladimir Golschmann. It received the most enthusiastic ovation in the concert history St. Louis. On 30 March 1947, Heifetz played the concerto in Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Efrem Kurtz. The performance was broadcast on the radio and recorded on recorded on transcription discs. Korngold gave his own opinion about Heifetz's playing of the work writing as follows: "In spite of the demand for virtuosity in the finale, the work with its many melodic and lyric episodes was contemplated more for a Caruso than for a Paganini. It is needless to say how delighted I am to have my concerto performed by Caruso and Paganini in one person: Jascha Heifetz." Heifetz's performance launched the work into the standard repertoire, and it soon became Korngold's most popular piece. However, the fame of the violin concerto, combined with Korngold's eminence as author Hollywood film music, has conspired to obscure the rest of his legacy of works written before and after his arrival in the United States. Unfortunately, the romantic style of Korngold's compositions, his sweet melodies and vibrant orchestration did not fit into the picture of the rapidly evolving European music of the post-war years. The composer died in 1957 almost forgotten. It was not until the end of the twentieth century that the revival of his music started and many of his works were performed in concerts and recorded.