Violin Concerto in D major

The concerto was written in 1931 at the prompting of the publisher Willy Strecker on behalf of the violinist Samuel Dushkin; Stravinsky hesitated, having little interest in virtuoso string writing, and accepted only after Hindemith assured him that ignorance of the instrument would help rather than hinder. Dushkin advised on what was playable, and the two worked through the year in Paris, Nice and Voreppe. Each of the four movements opens with the same wide three-note chord, which Dushkin at first declared impossible. He gave the first performance in Berlin on 23 October 1931 under the composer.