Staying Power

Have you heard Achron's violin concerto? No? Neither have I. How about Krenek's violin concerto? Sivori's? Molique's? Reed's? Well, it's ok. These are not works that have entered the standard repertoire. They probably never will. I will list here a few composers who have written concertos for the violin which have been popular for a brief time then completely dropped out of sight and out of earshot. Who determines the staying power in a work? The performers? No. The composers? No. The critics? No. It is the public - the audience. From the Vivaldi concertos to the Sibelius, it has always been the public that demands to hear a work again, and again. It is also the public that chooses to forget a work. A majority of works are neglected, but for good reason. Some are brought back by well-meaning performers but they don't stay. They have no staying power. Even if the works are recorded and promoted to the nth degree, if the public does not embrace a work, it will be forgotten. The violin concerto repertoire is comprised of approximately 30 concertos - the war horses. Some (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Lalo, Bruch, Sibelius) are played more often than others, but all 30 of them are played year in and year out. The neglected ones are perhaps played five times then completely forgotten forever. For instance, have you ever heard the concertos by Achron, Aitken, Arensky, Arutunian, Atterberg, Baillot, Bennet, Bliss, Britten, Clement, Collins, DeBeriot, Delius, Egge, Gabaidulina, Ginastera, Goldmark, Halffter, Hubay, Krenek, Laderman, Larsson, Lees, Lipinski, Marteau, Massenet, Maw, Molique, Ogermann, Ott, Panufnik, Pfitzner, Previn, Rautaavara, Reed, Reger, Remenyi, Richter, Rode, Rosenman, Sauret, Secunda, Schnittke, Sivori, Spalding, Svendsen, Szeryng, Tower, Wiren, Yardumian, Ysaye, or Zimbalist? If you hear any of them once, you will probably not feel compelled to hear them again. Take my word. 

Johan Svendsen

Johan Svendsen (Johan Severin Svendsen) was a Norwegian violinist, conductor, and composer, born on September 30, 1840 (Brahms was 7 years old.) He was very popular and successful in his day. Svendsen first studied with his father (what else is new?) and was working as an orchestral musician by the time he finished his secondary school education. At that time, he also undertook occasional tours as a violinist. A wealthy patron who heard him on one of these tours, financed further study for him at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1863 until 1867. There, he studied with the famous violinist Ferdinand David and the composer Reinecke. After turning his almost undivided attention to conducting, he worked in England, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Norway. Eventually, he was engaged as the Theatre conductor in Copenhagen, Denmark, on or about the year 1871. He was barely 31 years old. There he stayed until his death. His most famous composition (which is seldom heard nowadays) is his Romance for Violin from 1881. He was popular as a composer almost from the start, having achieved recognition with his very first composition - the string quartet from 1865. He composed three symphonies, a violin concerto, a ballet, and an assortment of chamber music. It is said that the original score to his third symphony was destroyed in a fire before having been published. It has therefore never been heard by anyone other than Svendsen. I have never heard anything of his aside from the Romance for Violin. Svendsen died on June 14, 1911, at age 70  (Richard Strauss was 47 years old, Igor Stravinsky was 29, and Jascha Heifetz was 10.)