Charles Auguste de Bériot: Violin Concerto No. 6 in A Major, Op. 70 – full score (NXP002)

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Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2 - 2.2.2.0 - timp. - violin solo - strings
56 pages

Concerto No. 6. in A major, Op. 70, was composed for the 1849 Brussels concours. It uses a formula Bériot loved: three movements played without a break.

The opening Allegro moderato movement consists of the usual orchestral introduction featuring two main themes followed by the entrance of the soloist, who repeats the themes introduced by the orchestra, though with suitable embellishment. Unlike the usual three solo sections surrounded by orchestral sections, there is only one solo section.

Eventually the soloist moves from 4/4 time to 12/8 time; this is followed by a short tutti bridge to the 6/8 Andante in A minor. Bériot often truncated the usual concerto form in this manner. The Andante is marked con sentimento and is in two parts, gradually becoming more florid and leading to a fermata.

The Allegretto in A major begins simply, becoming more virtuosic with scale runs and double-stops, and ending with a galloping Allegro vivace coda in 2/4 time.

Bruce R. Schueneman

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