Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61

The concerto unfolds in three movements, played with a brief pause before the finale.

I. Allegro non troppo. The violin enters almost immediately, alone, with a dark, urgent melody over rumbling low strings. This movement stays serious and turbulent, with the soloist driving the argument rather than simply decorating it.

II. Andantino quasi allegretto. A complete change of mood: the orchestra sets up a gentle, rocking accompaniment, almost like a barcarolle (a boat song), and the violin sings a long, warm melody above it. Woodwinds trade phrases with the soloist in a relaxed, conversational way.

III. Molto moderato e maestoso, leading to Allegro non troppo. The finale opens with a slow, questioning introduction before the violin launches into a brilliant, energetic main theme. Listen for a broad, hymn-like melody that appears partway through, played by the soloist over sustained chords, before the music races back to the opening energy for a fast, exciting close.

Throughout, the piece favors singing melody and clear structure over flashy technical display for its own sake, though the finale gives the soloist real fireworks.

Saint-Saëns wrote this concerto in 1880 for the celebrated Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate, who had already championed the composer's earlier violin works and premiered several of them. Sarasate gave the first performance in Paris in 1880. Of Saint-Saëns's three violin concertos, this one, his last, quickly became the most popular, prized for its balance of lyricism and virtuosity. It has remained in the standard repertoire ever since, performed and recorded by generations of leading violinists, and is often considered a natural stepping stone between the Romantic concertos of Mendelssohn and Brahms and the more overtly virtuosic French and Russian concertos that followed it.