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EDWARD ELGAR : Violin Concerto, Op. 61

Thursday 10 November, 1910 – Queen's Hall, London

London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Edward Elgar

Fritz Kreisler, Violin solo

“The solo part is one of the most exhausting in the repertoire – a veritable compendium of bravura violin techniques, in which Elgar, despite all his inside knowledge, sought the help of W. H. Reed, later to become Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. Reed and Elgar (at the piano) gave a run-through to a select group of listeners before the first performance proper. Kreisler also made small suggestions that were incorporated in the published score.

In his interview, Kreisler had ranked Elgar with Beethoven and Brahms. Elgar met the challenge, and his 'Violin Concerto' combines the singing quality of Beethoven’s with the symphonic drama of Brahms’s.”

— Adrian Jack