The Tchaikovsky violin concerto: revisions and repertoire for performance technique

Abstract

This thesis deals with the Violin Concerto D major op.35, which was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (d. 1893) in 1878 and is regarded by performers as a virtuosic rather than a symphonic concerto. A scholarly research that examines the concertos revisions is further supplemented with research into correlated repertoire for violin performance technique. The research finds that the revisions introduced to the concerto were by master violin performers and their students, some of whom knew Tchaikovsky as well as others who represented their own school of violin performance. The technical repertoire research highlights correlated repertoire such as etudes and caprices serving to advance the violin technique of the performers. Based on the research, this study thus argues that the concerto’s revisions, which included shortening repetitive passages, removal of double stops, and paying more attention to elaborations, are primarily related to the solo violin part, in particular its instrument technique and performance technique.