Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35

Recovering at Clarens in the spring of 1878 from the collapse that followed his marriage, Tchaikovsky was joined by his pupil Iosif Kotek. Playing through Lalo's Symphonie espagnole with him prompted the concerto, written in under a month; Kotek advised on the solo writing, and the discarded slow movement became the first of the Souvenir d'un lieu cher pieces. Fear of gossip stopped Tchaikovsky from dedicating the work to him. Leopold Auer, who received the dedication instead, called it unplayable; Adolph Brodsky gave the first performance in Vienna in 1881.