Horst Platen - Violin Concerto

[Justin]

Just uploaded a recording of Horst Platen's lovely violin concerto conducted by Platen himself.

Do any of the members have info on when this was composed? It is certainly in the romantic style, but I am having trouble pinpointing any particular decade.

[Alan Howe]

There's also this performance on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YG8cclf_fU

Details:

Violin Concerto in G Major
I. Leicht bewegt
II. Langsam 
III. Rhythmisch bewegt
Walter Forchert, violin
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Jiri Starek, conductor

[Wheesht]

Interesting that both recordings should have the same error in the movement titles: Rythmisch instead of the correct Rhythmisch – and what on earth is bericht with a lower case 'b' supposed to mean?

[Holger]

Yes indeed, the titles of the first and third movements do not make sense. It seems reasonable that it should be "bewegt" instead of "bericht" (there is a "Bericht" in German but that's a noun and means "report"). To clarify the issue, I had a look at Tobias Bröker's catalogue of 20th century violin concertos, and indeed, this is true. In fact, here the titles are given as

I. Leicht bewegt
II. Sehr langsam
III. Rhythmisch bewegt.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

[Alan Howe]

Indeed. Most remiss of me to copy and fail to check. I was in rather a hurry. I have corrected my original post.

Toskey doesn't list the work, I note.

[Justin]

Found a photograph of Platen on the second page of a flyer for a theater in Fürth:

https://www.fuerthwiki.de/wiki/images/f/f4/Theaterflyer_F%C3%BCrth_1941.pdf

[Wheesht]

Interesting. He looks quite different in the biographical entry on the same Fürth Wiki.

[Alan Howe]

Dates: 1884-1964. No details given about his mellifluous Violin Concerto, unfortunately.

[Maury]

Platen has a rather interesting bio with his early association with radio broadcasts. He definitely seems to lean toward the lighter side given that he was composing incidental music for radio plays and composed operettas. Wiki does list two operas composed by my cutoff of 1925 for authentic neo Romanticism. The Violin Concerto seems rather gentle and not particularly heavy. I found the outer two movements better than what seems to me a too hesitant slower middle  movement. I would guess it was done after WW1. I would like to hear his stage works.

[eschiss1]

As to the violin concerto, I can't seem to locate any notice of a performance before the recording, or other information that might give some even rough estimate for its composition date. I'm gathering it wasn't published, apparently.

[Maury]

Regarding the Platen VC I wouldn't be surprised if it was unperformed. Violinists particularly of that era wanted something more stirring and dynamic. In addition as a (school) violinist myself, I would have required him to rewrite the middle movement to give it more depth and feeling to counterbalance the appealing but lighter outer movements. I find what little music I've heard of Platen to be interesting but perhaps he wasn't getting much critical feedback in the somewhat out of the mainstream positions he was in before 1946.