Max Bruch (1830-1920) preferred tuneful music with strong melodies and was particularly interested in folk music. He had little interest in structural and technical sophistication, instead he always aimed to produce music that is instantly understandable by the audience. Because of this he was seen as out of step with the contemporary music of the times and it wasn't until late in life that he became recognised as a major composer. However, his beautiful Violin Concerto, written during his thirties, had already been a great favourite with performers and audiences and is still his most frequently performed piece.
He actually wrote three concertos for violin and orchestra, but it is only the first one that most people play, in fact so little known are the others that the first one is usually known simply as 'the Bruch Violin Concerto'. Over a period of four years he rewrote the piece several times and consulted closely with many of the great violinists of the time, such as Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand David. The three movements of the piece are typical in style of many romantic concertos:
- The first movement: dark and passionnate, alternately soaring and brooding.
- The second movement: unforgettably beautiful, Bruch's great gift for melody creates the romantic heart and soul of the piece (see the music, listen to a midi file).
- The third movement is full of joy and rustic dance energy.
Other Music by Bruch
There are one or two other well known pieces for soloist and orchestra:
Kol Nedrei - Adagio on Hebrew Melodies for cello solo and orchestra.
Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra, which is full of folk tunes that he collected whilst touring Scotland. (Bruch was conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic for two years and visited Britain on a number of other occasions).
There is also a wonderful clarinet and viola concerto written late in life and numerous choral works that are still frequently performed.
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