Violin Concerto
for violin and orchestra (1983)

Listen to an excerpt (171K MP3)

23 minutes

Bracanin’s Violin Concerto was completed in April 1983 and dedicated to Dene Olding.

Compared with the Guitar Concerto the orchestral texture is a little fuller, sometimes approaching a late Romantic density of sound. The structured use of imitation of motives and themes is a feature of the first movement, as well as the style of its cadenza.

In the second, lento doloroso movement, the warmly expressive qualities of the violin are presented against a quiet, sustained backdrop. With a wistful and twisting melody Bracanin gradually leads the listener into the musical stratosphere – the melody’s climax had been intended an octave lower, but Olding’s playing in rehearsal convinced Bracanin to "strive for the stars". The movement shows an excellent match of moods between soloist and orchestra, partly because of the prominent role in the texture of the orchestral violins as well as the soloist.

The third-movement finale is one of Bracanin’s most motoric pieces of writing, with a perpetuo moto through the movement. There are no contrasting passages; the soloist dominates to the very end, which is lightly punctuated by sharp chords from the orchestra.