Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64

Mendelssohn first mentioned this concerto to Ferdinand David in a letter of 30 July 1838: an E minor theme was going round in his head and would not leave him alone. David, whom he had brought to Leipzig as concertmaster, then waited six years while public duties kept the composer from finishing it. The two corresponded closely over technical detail, and David gave the first performance on 13 March 1845 in Leipzig with Niels Gade conducting, Mendelssohn being ill. The soloist enters in the second bar, and the cadenza is written into the middle of the movement rather than the end. The manuscript of the score bears the date 16 September 1844. Mendelssohn conducted the concerto himself for the first time on 23 October 1845, again with David as soloist. Its three movements are linked and are played without a break.