Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 - 1st Movement for Violin and String Orchestra

Wieniawski's Second Violin Concerto is one of the first big Romantic concertos most serious violinists learn. This arrangement sets the first movement for solo violin and string orchestra, with a new ending so it stands alone as a concert piece.

Wieniawski wrote the concerto for himself and gave the first performance in St Petersburg in 1862, with Anton Rubinstein conducting. He later dedicated it to Sarasate. The first movement has no development and no recapitulation. In the original, the orchestra carries the music straight on into the Romance, so the movement never properly finishes.

That leaves a problem for anyone playing the first movement on its own. Although the concerto is in D minor, the movement closes in F major, and a short ending forced back to D minor sounds wrong. I've written a new ending that stays in F major and brings the movement to a proper close. The solo part is Wieniawski's own, and the wind and brass lines of the original now sit in the strings.

The solo part is diploma / professional standard. It asks for a full singing tone on the lyrical themes and real command of the bow in the passagework. It's a great piece to learn and a great piece to play.

At approximately 9 minutes, it fits a concerto slot in a string orchestra concert, without the cost of hiring wind, brass and timpani.

This edition has the full opening orchestral tutti. I also have a version with a shortened 16-bar opening tutti, which suits competitions where time is tight. If you buy this edition and would like the shortened version as well, email me at info@mymusicscores.com and I'll send it to you free of charge.

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

• Instrumentation: solo violin, violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, double bass
• Difficulty: diploma / professional standard
• Duration: approximately 9 minutes, with the full opening tutti
• Style focus: Romantic concerto playing, singing tone, virtuoso passagework
• Format: PDF download, full score and all parts

This arrangement suits advanced students and young professionals preparing a concerto for a competition, audition or diploma recital where the accompaniment is a string orchestra. Youth and conservatoire string orchestras can use it to put a strong player in front of the group. No performance licence is required, and permission to record is included.