Vieuxtemps, Henri - Violin Concerto No 5 in A Minor, Op 37 - Violin and Piano - edited by Galamian - International Music Company

This concerto is one of the most valuable for technique. Originally written as a contest piece for the Brussels Conservatory in the late 1850s and cast in one movement (with three distinct sections, or four with the cadenza) it covers the entire range of the fingerboard and all important aspects of violin technique. The first movement actually had two cadenzas written by Vieuxtemps, but only one of these is ever performed (the second of the two, and it is one of the greatest of all violin cadenzas.) This concerto is actually subtitled 'Gretry' because of a melody in the second movement that was taken from one of Gretry's operas. The final movement, like that of the Wieniawski concerto #1, takes just over a minute to play, and it is a dashing recapitulation of part of the first movement. HIGHLY recommended! This concerto deserves to be played more! I learned the #4 before learning this one (and I never liked #4.)