The first instruments that FRANZ SCHUBERT mastered were the violin and viola, although he did not strive for excellence and never achieved it. As a result, his first opuses, written between 1810 and 1817, were for strings – string quartets, sonatas and pieces for violin and piano. It was during this period, namely in June 1816, that Schubert composed his Rondo in A major for violin and strings, D. 438, followed by his Concertstück for violin and orchestra and his Polonaise for violin and orchestra (1817). The Rondo was performed by a violin and string quartet, not a string orchestra, and this is the composition reflected in the first publication of the work in 1897. Schubert favoured mainly home music-making, which involved amateurs and friends from artistic circles, such as poets and artists. Its premieres were held at salon music parties, which became known as Schubertiades.

In his violin opuses Schubert relied on his collaboration with his brother Ferdinand, who was a talented violinist, and later on his friendship with Josef Slavik, a virtuoso and clear rival of Paganini. The brilliant Rondo in B Minor and the Fantasia in C Major (D. 934), inspired by the performer in 1827, are dedicated to Slavik.

The Rondo in A Major for Violin & Orchestra, D.438, is based on the structural models of Viennese classicism. Schubert embodies the typical Viennese, possessed of talent and charm, composing at a time of the hegemony of Viennese Classicism. What connects him with ‘modern romanticism’ is the harmonious freedom of his language, his typical sensitivity to the dramatic and the tragic, sorrow and sadness.