Moszkowski, Moritz - Violin Concerto in C major Op.30

Moritz Moszkowski

Moritz Moszkowski, c. 1880

(23 August 1854 – 4 March 1925) was a German-Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish

descent on his paternal side.^{[1][n 1]} His brother Alexander Moszkowski was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin.

 Violin Concerto in C major Op.30

 (dedicated to Emile Sauret)

Movement 1 : Allegro comodo
Movement 2 : Andante
Movement 3 : Vivace

„Moritz Moszkowski, the son of a well-to-do family from Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), began piano lessons at an early age and started at Dresden Conservatory when only eleven. At fifteen he went to Berlin to become a pupil at the Stern Conservatory and later to study at Theodor Kullak's Academy of Music in the same city. His training with the leading piano teachers of the day determined his subsequent career path. Straight after completing his studies at the Academy he joined its teaching staff, and almost immediately also embarked on his performing career as a pianist, undertaking tours and making a successful debut in Berlin in 1873 at the age of nineteen. These two activities were to fill his life for the next thirty years, but he also found time to compose.
Though primarily a pianist, Moszkowski was also an outstanding violinist, often leading the violins in the orchestral concerts of the Berlin Academy. During his time there he also cultivated friendships with many of the leading violinists of the day, particularly, around 1880, Emile Sauret, who was also living and teaching in Berlin. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that he wrote a violin concerto in addition to his two concertos for piano.
His Violin Concerto in C op. 30 appeared in Berlin in 1883 with a dedication to Sauret.

In 1897, when at the height of his fame as a pianist, teacher and composer, Moszkowski moved to Paris with his wife, sister of the French composer Cecile Chaminade. There he devoted himself entirely to teaching; amongst his pupils was Wanda Landowska, later to become world-famous. But from 1910 on he found himself witnessing the evaporation of his fame and success (the `modern' school of composers, represented by Debussy, Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Mahler, to name but a few in Paris and Vienna, had other aims, and the taste of the time had changed.)

Moszkowski's concerto is romantic in the truest sense of the term. Virtuosity is not expressly demonstrated; it is simply a prerequisite, fulfilling the expressive purpose of the piece. The same 'poetic idea', as Schumann called it, is served by the deeply-felt melodies, which are only apparently contrasted with the virtuoso aspects. Another particular characteristic of this music is its interaction with its audiences, even playing with their expectations as in the first movement. This is music for the general listener, not only for the `initiated' musician - a very likeable virtue which is sufficient justification in itself for giving this long-forgotten concerto a revival.” (from Album notes by Michael Raab)