Andantino Cantabile
3. Vivace Giocoso Kabelevsky’s compositional career began through the process of writing simple melodies for students coming to him for piano lessons. Similarly, his Violin Concerto (op. 48) is dedicated to the soviet youth, providing advanced students with an elegant piece of repertoire to hone in their skills. As Kabalevsky was a citizen of Russia, he carefully wrote works to adhere to the current Soviet musical and political stance. Normally performed with orchestra, an eight bar introduction leads the soloist into an exciting, fast-moving flurry of notes. The fast pace is maintained throughout the entire first movement, with expressive and crisp rhythmical and melodic devices. Concluding the movement with a decadent series of rapid arpeggios, the second movement transports the listener to an entirely different place.
The Andantino Cantabile movement is possibly the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed for violin. The haunting melody is something of a wonder as it plaintively speaks with such a resonance of understanding. The opening theme changes to a lighter middle section, before drawing the listener through a passage of repeated chromatic runs featuring alternating semiquavers and quintuplets. The original portentous theme returns to finish the