Concertino

The Concertino for solo violin, flute, clarinet and horn was composed in 1924 as an entry for a competition organised by the publishers B. Schott’s Söhne. Entrants were required to submit a ‘composition of a chamber-style concerto for one or more solo instruments with accompanying instruments, regardless of the combination’. By this time, Dessau had already worked at various institutions as a conductor and répétiteur, but his early compositions had attracted little public attention. The Concertino was to change that.

As a then-unknown composer, Dessau took the competition’s guidelines very seriously and submitted a composition that demonstrates both a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of music theory and compositional skill. At the same time, the three-movement Concertino reflects the debates and developments of its time. The instrumentation – solo violin with wind accompaniment – can be understood as a reduction of the symphonic orchestra.

The present edition consists of a new edition prepared in accordance with scientific principles.

- Sandra Kebig