Violin Concerto (Ponce)

Manuel Ponce's Violin Concerto was composed in 1943 and premiered on August 20 by Henryk Szeryng and the Mexico Symphony conducted by Ponce's former pupil Carlos Chávez.^[1] It was the last of his three concertos, written five years before his death. It lasts c. 30 minutes and consists of an eclectic Allegro, a lyrical Andante discreetly quoting his 1910 song Estrellita and a joyful Vivo. Mexican dance elements are integrated in the first movement's framework and evident in the finale.^[2]

1. Allegro non troppo
2. Andante espressivo
3. Vivo giocoso

Discography

• Henryk Szeryng // Polish National Radio Symphony — Jan Krenz. Prelude.
• Henryk Szeryng // Royal Philharmonic — Enrique Bátiz. EMI, 1985
• Miranda Cuckson // Czech National Symphony — Paul Freeman. Centaur, 1999

References

1. Profile of the work in Apreciación Musical, by Julio Ravelo de la Fuente, page 458
2. Review of the Centaur release by Jonathan Woolf in Musicweb-international.com