Violin Concerto No. 2

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed Violin concerto No. 2 in late summer and early autumn 2015 for the Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä. Lasting about 32 minutes, the second concerto is a large-scale virtuoso work dominated by the soloist. The strong-featured first movement (Allegro) begins with a fairly short orchestral introduction that is followed by the soloist's first vigorous statement. Around the middle of the movement is a cadenza, and the movement ends with a quick stretta. The soloist dominates the events in the slow second movement (Adagio) even more than it did in the first. The Adagio begins with the same opening motif for the soloist as the first movement, but this time the motif is more lyrical and singing. Having built up to a dramatic climax, it subsides on flageolet notes and finally sounds that are “somewhere between” musical notes and noise. The third movement (Vivace, leggiero) is by nature dance-like again and lighter than the previous ones. At the end, the tempo accelerates to a wild, virtuosic prestissimo.