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Brahms had begun his professional career in the 1850s as a piano accompanist to better-known artists, particularly violinists, such as Joachim. His professional alliance with Joachim led to an association with Robert and Clara Schumann, who stimulated international interest in the aspiring young composer; thus, it can fairly be said that, through Joachim, Brahms acquired his reputation. As their careers developed, one man became one of the most prominent composers of the day, the other, one of the most respected violinists. Their professional positions, combined with their personal friendship made further collaboration inevitable.
In the summer of 1878, while vacationing in the Austrian village of P�rtschach, Brahms began a violin concerto for Joachim. The two men had performed together for decades, and Brahms certainly knew the impressive extent of his colleague's talent, but not being a violinist himself, the composer was concerned about the practicality of what he was creating. With an eye toward solving problems before it was too late, he sent the first movement solo part to Joachim, writing, "You should correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition... I shall be satisfied if you will mark those parts that are difficult, awkward, or impossible to play." The violinist, who was also something of a composer himself, eagerly complied, starting a three-month correspondence concerning the piece.
The discussion continued until the concerto's premiere in Leipzig on New Year's Day, 1879. Some listeners were skeptical of the new piece, which seemed to be virtually beyond the abilities of merely mortal violinists. In fact, one observer, the conductor and pianist Hans von B�low, even claimed it was a concerto "against the violin," and Brahms and Joachim continued revisions on the work until its publication six months later. Even then, not all observers were pleased. The Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate flatly refused to play the work, though not because of its difficulty. "Do you think," he queried rhetorically, "that I would stand there with my violin in my hand and listen while the oboe plays the only melody in the entire piece?" Indeed, the oboe's second movement solo is exquisite, but the violinist has his own lovely music in abundance, and despite debate amongst the experts, audiences have always delighted in the piece, reveling in its lyrical melodies and rich orchestration.
All too often, manuscripts for masterpieces vanish into history, yet the manuscript for Brahms' Violin Concerto is in safe hands. The virtuoso violinist Fritz Kreisler acquired it and in 1948 presented it to the U.S. Library of Congress where it remains today.