Violin Concerto (Wirén)

Violin Concerto
by Dag Wirén
The composer
Opus	23
Composed	1945 (1945)–1946
Publisher	Gehrmans Musikförlag (1948)
Duration	Approx. 20 minutes
Movements	3
Premiere
Date	10 April 1947 (1947-04-10)
Location	Gothenburg, Sweden
Conductor	Clarence Raybould
Performers	Gothenburg Orchestral Society Otto Kyndel

The Violin Concerto, Op. 23, is a three-movement concertante composition for violin and orchestra written from 1945 to 1946 by the Swedish composer Dag Wirén. The piece premiered on 10 April 1947 in Gothenburg, Sweden, with Clarence Raybould conducting the Gothenburg Orchestral Society; the soloist was the Swedish violinist Otto Kyndel. The Violin Concerto is a rare example of Wirén—the idiom of whom was primarily neo-classical—embracing a "full-blooded" neo-romantic style; it is, with its "greater depth of expression, ... in the spirit of" Jean Sibelius. In a 1979 radio interview, Wirén characterized the Violin Concerto as one of the best pieces he had composed

Structure

The Violin Concerto is in three movements. They are as follows:

1. Allegro moderato, ma inquieto
2. Andante espressivo
3. Allegro molto

Instrumentation

The Violin Concerto is scored the following instruments:

• Soloist: violin
• Woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in ??), and 2 bassoons
• Brass: 4 horns (in ??), 2 trumpets (in ??), 3 trombones, and tuba
• Percussion: timpani + other percussion
• Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and harp

Gehrmans Musikförlag published the piece in 1948.

Recordings

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Violin Concerto:

Conductor	Orchestra	Soloist	Rec.	Time	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
Sten Frykberg	Swedish Radio Orchestra	Louis Kaufman	1953	18:27	Swedish Radio	Discopaedia
Sergiu Comissiona	Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra	Nils-Erik Sparf	1985	20:30	Stockholm Concert Hall	Caprice

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

References

Sources

• "Violinkonsert" [Violin Concerto]. gehrmans.se. Gehrmans Musikförlag. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
• Hedblad, Lars (1990). Dag Wirén: Violin Concerto / Triptych / Wind Quintet, Op. 42 / String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41 (CD booklet). Translated by Tanner, Roger. Sergiu Commissiona & Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Caprice. p. 2–4. CAP 21326. OCLC 28299747
• Kaufman, Louis (1960). Masters of the Bow: The Kaufman Legacy (Vol. 1) (LP booklet). Sten Frykberg & Swedish Radio Orchestra. Discopaedia. MB 1027. OCLC 18337179