Violin Concerto in D minor

One of the most popular solo concertos of the 20th century, Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D minor can now be discovered in its original version from 1904, which had been withdrawn by the composer. To mark the composer’s 150th birthday, the publishing house Robert Lienau published the performance material based on the Sibelius Complete Edition for the first time. Lasting about five minutes longer than the more familiar revised version dating from 1905, the original displays greater virtuosity and a more rugged rhythmic character. Following the work’s first performance by the apparently overtaxed soloist Viktor Nováček (who replaced the intended soloist Willy Burmester), Sibelius reduced the technical demand of the solo part in the outer movements as well as a degree of tonal acerbity.