violin concerto no. 2
Piano Reduction
Duration ca. 20' (2017)
violin, piano
Available for full orchestra
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Commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Co-Commissioned by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.
Premiered by Dallas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jaap Van Zweden, soloist Alexander Kerr, Dalls, TX, May 24-26, 2018.
Other Performances: Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stuart Malina, soloist Alexander Kerr, May 18-19, 2019.
Tuneful, toe-tapping, vividly rhythmic, the Leshnoff [Violin Concerto No. 2] is a most appealing work: neoclassical Stravinsky meets Samuel Barber meets minimalism... it was a showpiece for DSO concertmaster Alexander Kerr, who played with the utmost tonal finesse, sweetly singing phrases balancing flawless virtuosity.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, May 2018
At 20 minutes, Leshnoff’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is a nearly perfect marriage of form and content, with an unfailingly palatable harmonic and melodic language.
—Wayne Lee Gay, Texas Classical Review, May 2018
The piece was tonal and enjoyable to listen to, and...it easily rose to the top of Pulitzer Prize contenders among recent music compositions I've heard and deserves to be performed widely. z
—Dallas Notebooks, May 2018
program note
The violin is a familiar instrument to Leshnoff. It was the instrument he played as a child and into his teens before he “officially” switched tracks to composition in his college years. He has written 2 other major works for violin that have been widely performed: his Chamber Concerto for Gil Shaham and his Violin Concerto No. 1 for Charles Wetherbee (Naxos).
The genesis of Leshnoff’s 2nd Violin Concerto came from the Harrisburg Symphony programmed Leshnoff’s Double Concerto in November of 2015. Leshnoff arrived at the rehearsal not knowing Kerr at all and left the concert with a budding friendship and great admirer of Alex’s performance and technique. Seeing great potential in their artistic collaboration, Kerr commissioned a trio from Leshnoff for former DSO principal horn David Cooper, Kerr and piano. The success of this trio led to the official commission of this violin concerto by the DSO and co-commissioned by the Harrisburg Symphony, Stuart Malina, Music Director.
The concerto is cast in four movements with a melody that appears in all four. The first movement begins amidst quiet rustling from the upper strings as the soloist presents the soaring melody, commencing kinetic explorations throughout the movement. The second movement is scored only for strings, harp and solo violin. Slow and introverted, the themes seem to emerge from nothing and return to that source. The third movement, labeled “scherzo,” is brief, utilizing a jaunty theme that is virtuosically passed around from soloist to orchestra. In contrast, the lengthy fourth movement develops as an independent entity until the opening melody is brought back, creating unity, coherence and bringing the concerto to a close.