His VIOLIN CONCERTO No. 2 ranks among the most popular violin concertos of the Romantic era, in the repertoire of all the great performers, appealing also to the public with its beautiful, typically Romantic lyrical melody and brilliant virtuosity. It was probably fully completed as early as 1856, but its first performance was not until November 27th , 1862 in St. Petersburg, performed by Wieniawski under Anton Rubinstein. The score was published in 1879, with a dedication by the composer To my dear friend Pablo de Sarasate.
The concerto is composed in the traditional three-movement form – the opening anxiously agitated allegro, filled with all the variety of complex, virtuosic violin technique in the solo part, flows uninterrupted into the gushing emotionality of the Romance. And the final ‘fiery’ (con fuoco) allegro, with its impetuous tempo and temperament, does indeed seem to recall the gypsy manner of playing – à la Zingara, as the composer noted.