The thing about classical music is it’s so complex and packed full of incredible work, stuff will suddenly pop up that amazes you. And you wonder why you’d never heard of it before.
As is the case with Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, which was first performed in 1945.
We were put onto this by London’s brilliant Cadogan Hall, who had a performance of the concerto on the 10th February. That triggered us off into another research session to find out all about this thing.
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (of the Korngold Variety)
This was the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra headed by Julia Majewska, who played the Korngold concerto on 9th February 2026. She was the competition winner at 2026’s Purcell School Concerto Competition, a school which takes on musically gifted teenagers.
Majewska had just turned 18 the previous day. She’s on fine bloody in the above clip, some serious concert leading verve going on there.
To be clear, we weren’t at this event. But we were at Cadogan Hall for the Spiritfarer: Farwell Melodies concert in October 2025 (one of our highlights of the year).
For a full version of the 25 minute (ish) concerto, see below, which features American violinist Hilary Hahn. She’s 46 now, so we’re assuming this footage is from circa 2000 or so (as she looks very young).
The piece was by Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957). Initially a classical music composer, after the rise of the Nazi party in Germany he fled to Hollywood in 1934. There he became a film composer only, as all his music from 1934 onward existed as Korngold detested Hitler. He refused to compose anything except film music until the Nazis were defeated.
As Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 was written in 1945, this coincided with Korngold’s hopes and the result is a an uplifting, hopeful blast of optimism.
There are three movements:
- Moderato
- Romance
- Allegro
That final movement is the most demanding, as the violinist has to perform a staccato jig. As noted on The Story Behind Korngold’s Violin Concerto:
“The finale’s staccato jig shows off the composer’s full range of facility. The orchestration is brilliant. There is a wealth of themes, all developed along traditional classical lines. However, as the themes return, rondo-like, we are reminded of ‘main title’ music, particularly when the horns take up the principal theme. The coda literally “chews up” this theme as it is reworked by the virtuoso violin part, until the full orchestra finishes the work by rolling the end titles.”
All of the movements incorporate some elements from 1930s film scores. In this concerto we can hear the foundations for what influenced soundtracks for decades ahead. Elements from the films Another Dawn (1937), Juarez (1937), Anthony Adverse (1936), and The Prince and the Pauper (1937) are set across the three movements.
After WWII, Korngold retired from film music to focus on classical again. But not before leaving a lasting legacy on cinema.
