Max_von_Schillings_by_Nicola_PerscheidThe early 20th Century brought about a wide variety of musical styles - from the overtly romantic stylings of Richard Strauss to the academic stylings of Schoenberg's 12 tone system. What is often overlooked is the theatrical works of composers of the early 20th Century, which often fed the concept of the modern movie score - a genre unto itself for many modern day music lovers. Today we look at Max von Schillings' Violin Concerto No. 1, a dramatic work for violin and orchestra that is rarely performed today.

Schillings was most known as a conductor (including a period as the Artistic Director of the Städtische Oper Berlin), but was also an accomplished operatic composer. His works today, however, have fallen into obscurity, in part because of concerns of some anti-Semitic actions in the early 1930s. His Violin Concerto No. 1, however, comes from an earlier period, with it's original publication in 1910.

The work begins with a grand flourish worthy of a Hollywood movie, quickly followed by the violin entering solo with sharp interjected chords by the orchestra. As the two pass back and forth, the violin continues a long series of arpegiated lines, before moving to a more melodic, singing line over a simpler accompaniment by the orchestra. The orchestra takes over the theme for an extended orchestral interlude, before a second theme comes back in the solo violin, introducing a triplet feel in both the solo and accompaniment. After a cadenza-like passage by the violin, the winds introduce a lyrical idea, with the Clarinet and English Horn performing in two beautiful lines. After a long period of development, and extended cadenza, a series of showy runs in the violin lead us to a sudden end of the first movement, after more than 23 minutes of music.

The second movement opens with sustained chords in the strings with a haunting melodic idea in the winds with a descending second. The violin enters with a melody contrasting this previous minor mode, with a very beautiful sonority in F Major. The oboe then begins a second singing line with the orchestra, before being echoed by the violin. Schillings trades this idea back and forth between the oboe and violin, before bringing the orchestra to a much fuller sound with the celli taking over the melodic idea as the violin sings a descant line above that is reminiscent of the first melody we heard. A series of descending fifths brings the movement to a close.

The third movement (Allegro con brio) opens with flourishes in the orchestra echoed by the violin, before the celli and basses introduce a new motivic idea with a dotted rhythm that becomes the basis of the violin melody to follow. A series of runs and short triplet double stops gives us an interlude before coming back to the dotted rhythm line briefly before a more lyrical melody begins over syncopated string chords. Schillings continues to work with these ideas, before a series of runs brings us to an Allegro molto section at the end of the movement for a rousing close.

We've only been able to located one commercial recording of this work, which features the Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, with Ernö Rozsa on violin.