Mélancolie, second movement from Concerto no. 7 (violin and piano)

Title: Mélancolie, second movement from Violin Concerto no. 7

Composer: Henri Vieuxtemps

Instrumentation: Violin and Piano

Printout: 6 pages

Note: This slow movement from one of the several concertos by Belgian violin virtuoso Henri Vieuxtemps  is highly expressive. It requires well developed technique, especially with regard to bow control. Though stylistically different from the Mozart concerti, and therefore involving different technical requirements, I would put it beside  Suzuki books 9 and 10 in difficulty, or at level 5 or 6 in the ASTA rating system.

Skills: very chromatic passages, including double sharps; frequent shifting up through sixth position; long sustained legatos, romantic era lyricism; dynamic extremes; long sustained ppp harmonics at the end.