Violin Concerto in D minor MWV O 3

Mendelssohn composed the Concerto in D minor for Violin and String Orchestra at the age of 13. Two distinctly different versions of the first two movements have come down to us. The owner of the autograph of the first version is Yehudi Menuhin, London; the autograph of the second version belongs to the holdings of the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek Berlin. The third movement, which is indicated at the end of the second movement of the first version by the note attacca subito in connection with the incipit of the rondo theme, is preserved only in the Berlin source. The preface and critical report to the edition of the score in the Leipzig edition of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's works, Series II, Volume 6, provide detailed information about the source-historical and text-critical context.

The piano reduction DV 6406 offers both versions. Although the second version undoubtedly represents the compositionally more mature achievement of the young Mendelssohn, the first version of the first two movements, together with the third movement, which survived only once, is also suitable for performance, whereby especially the slow movement, which here is more concise and technically less demanding, will find friends.

The rental material of the 1st version contains only the first two movements (Allegro molto - Andante). The rental material of the 2nd version offers the complete concerto with all three movements.