The Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 77, was originally written by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1947 - 1948. He was still working on the piece at the time of the Zhdanov decree, and in the period following the composer's denunciation the work could not be performed. In the period between the work's initial completion and the first performance on 29 October 1955, the composer and its dedicatee, David Oistrakh, worked on a number of revisions. The work was finally premiered by the Leningrad Philharmonic under Yevgeny Mravinsky. It was well received, Oistrakh remarking on the "depth of its artistic content" and describing the violin part as a "pithy 'Shakespearian' role". Dmitri Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Zhdanov decree was issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on 10 February 1948. ... is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (Russian: , David Fiodorovič Ojstrah; September 30 [O.S. September 17] 1908 – October 24, 1974) was a Russian violinist who made many recordings and was the dedicatee of numerous violin works. ... The St. ... Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (June 4, 1903 - January 19, 1988) was a Russian conductor. ...

The work is scored for piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets -(3rd doubles bass clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, xylophone, celesta, two harps and strings. This article is about the instrument in the flute family. ... â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the woodwind family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... The contrabassoon, also contrafagotto or double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. ... For other uses, see Horn. ... For other uses, see Tuba (disambiguation). ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... A tam tam is also a kind of Gong A tam is also kind of Jamaican hat, probably from the Irish tam-o-shanter. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... French type, four-octave Celesta The Celesta (IPA ) is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

The concerto lasts around 35 minutes and has four movements, with a cadenza linking the final two: [[Media:Example. ... In music, a movement is a large division of a larger composition or musical form. ... In music, a cadenza (Italian for cadence) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a free rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display. ...

1. Nocturne
2. Scherzo
3. Passacaglia
4. Burlesque

Oistrakh characterised the first movement as "a suppression of feelings", and the second as "demoniac". The scherzo is also notable for an appearance by the DSCH motif representing the composer himself. Boris Schwarz (Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1972), commented on the passacaglia's "lapidary grandeur" and the burlesque's "devil-may-care abandonment". The beginning of the passacaglia is also notable for its juxtaposition of the invasion or Stalin theme from the Seventh Symphony and the fate motif from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. A nocturne (from the French for nocturnal) is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ... In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: pasacalle, German: passacalia; Italian: passacaglio, passagallo, passacagli, passacaglie) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. ... Photograph of Sally Rand, 1934. ... The DSCH motif DSCH is a musical motif used by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself, in the manner of the BACH motif of Johann Sebastian Bach. ... Symphony No. ... “Beethoven” redirects here. ... The coversheet to Beethovens 5th Symphony. ...

The concerto is sometimes numbered as Opus 99: the time-lag between composition and performance is the reason that it was originally issued as Opus 77 (Opus 77 was then allocated to Three Pieces for orchestra).

External Links: Check Out Video Excerpts of Violin Concerto No. 1 [1]