Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
It's the composition of a prodigy: the Concerto for Violin, Piano & Orchestra in D minor, "Double Concerto," MWV 04 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The performers in this video are Isabelle Faust on violin, and pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. The concert took place in 2019 at the Barbican Centre in London.
(00:00) I. Allegro
(18:57) II. Adagio
(27:54) III. Allegro molto
It's hard to imagine better conditions for a musician and composer to start off than those of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847). Both of his parents were not only deeply interested in music but were also musicians themselves. They recognized their son's musical talent early on and actively supported it. From a young age, Mendelssohn received the best instruction in both instrumental performance and composition. His musical education was taken to the next level starting in 1821 thanks to the so-called "Sunday concerts" — weekly private concerts held in a special concert hall in the family’s stately Berlin home. Musicians from the royal court orchestra of Berlin performed there, along with notable soloists who stopped in the city during their concert tours. At these Sunday concerts, the teenage Felix was able to hear his own compositions performed by professional musicians — and even take part himself.
It was in this exceptional setting that the Concerto for Violin, Piano & Orchestra in D minor premiered on May 25, 1823 in the presence of around 60 guests. A small string orchestra played the piece, with the violin part likely played by Eduard Rietz, and the piano part by the 14-year-old Felix himself. Reitz (1802-1832) was Mendelssohn Bartholdy's violin teacher and close friend and the young composer dedicated the work to him. The concerto was completed on May 6, 1823 and the public premiere followed on July 3 of the same year at the Schauspielhaus Berlin — this time with an expanded orchestration including woodwinds, brass and timpani. It is not entirely clear which version was written first. In any case, the Double Concerto in D minor was the first instrumental concerto by the young Mendelssohn to feature an expanded orchestral setting. As early as age 11, the gifted composer had begun writing music and quickly produced one work after another.
The double concerto is a demanding piece, both technically and musically. It reflects how early Mendelssohn had mastered the compositional techniques of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), and how he was able to develop them into his own distinct early Romantic style. After a dramatic orchestral introduction, an intense dialogue unfolds between solo violin and piano. The concerto is characterized by contrasting moods and emotions that seem to merge seamlessly into a complex whole. The essentially classical form of the concerto seems to almost overflow with new ideas.
With his Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, the child prodigy undeniably created a lasting masterpiece of early Romantic instrumental music.
© 2019 C Major Entertainment
Text: Rita Kass
Watch more great concerts here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBV5A14dyRWy1KSkwcG8LEey
Check out more famous violin pieces here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBWJ5t7LxFkBRlcTu4qHdo67
And find more music from the Romantic era here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBUCHNKKxIIM88sntDk1TVih
Subscribe to DW Classical Music: youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic
#romanticinstrumental #violinconcerto #mendelssohn
It's the composition of a prodigy: the Concerto for Violin, Piano & Orchestra in D minor, "Double Concerto," MWV 04 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The performers in this video are Isabelle Faust on violin, and pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. The concert took place in 2019 at the Barbican Centre in London.
(00:00) I. Allegro
(18:57) II. Adagio
(27:54) III. Allegro molto
It's hard to imagine better conditions for a musician and composer to start off than those of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847). Both of his parents were not only deeply interested in music but were also musicians themselves. They recognized their son's musical talent early on and actively supported it. From a young age, Mendelssohn received the best instruction in both instrumental performance and composition. His musical education was taken to the next level starting in 1821 thanks to the so-called "Sunday concerts" — weekly private concerts held in a special concert hall in the family’s stately Berlin home. Musicians from the royal court orchestra of Berlin performed there, along with notable soloists who stopped in the city during their concert tours. At these Sunday concerts, the teenage Felix was able to hear his own compositions performed by professional musicians — and even take part himself.
It was in this exceptional setting that the Concerto for Violin, Piano & Orchestra in D minor premiered on May 25, 1823 in the presence of around 60 guests. A small string orchestra played the piece, with the violin part likely played by Eduard Rietz, and the piano part by the 14-year-old Felix himself. Reitz (1802-1832) was Mendelssohn Bartholdy's violin teacher and close friend and the young composer dedicated the work to him. The concerto was completed on May 6, 1823 and the public premiere followed on July 3 of the same year at the Schauspielhaus Berlin — this time with an expanded orchestration including woodwinds, brass and timpani. It is not entirely clear which version was written first. In any case, the Double Concerto in D minor was the first instrumental concerto by the young Mendelssohn to feature an expanded orchestral setting. As early as age 11, the gifted composer had begun writing music and quickly produced one work after another.
The double concerto is a demanding piece, both technically and musically. It reflects how early Mendelssohn had mastered the compositional techniques of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), and how he was able to develop them into his own distinct early Romantic style. After a dramatic orchestral introduction, an intense dialogue unfolds between solo violin and piano. The concerto is characterized by contrasting moods and emotions that seem to merge seamlessly into a complex whole. The essentially classical form of the concerto seems to almost overflow with new ideas.
With his Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, the child prodigy undeniably created a lasting masterpiece of early Romantic instrumental music.
© 2019 C Major Entertainment
Text: Rita Kass
Watch more great concerts here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBV5A14dyRWy1KSkwcG8LEey
Check out more famous violin pieces here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBWJ5t7LxFkBRlcTu4qHdo67
And find more music from the Romantic era here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBUCHNKKxIIM88sntDk1TVih
Subscribe to DW Classical Music: youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic
#romanticinstrumental #violinconcerto #mendelssohn
