Tschaikovsky composed his 'Concerto for Violin and Orchestra' in the spring of 1878. The work does have a rocky beginning, somewhat like that of his first Piano Concerto. The premiere was both somewhat delayed and far less successful than that of the Piano Concerto. The composer offered his Violin Concerto to Leopold Auer, the brilliant Hungarian-born violinist, long based in Moscow, who now is remembered primarily as a pedagogue. Auer declared the Violin Concerto 'unplayable' and the dedication was eventually given to Adolf Brodsky, who happily accepted it and gave the work's premiere in Vienna at the end of 1881 with the 'Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra' . This transcription contains the first movement: 'Allegro moderato'.
