Johannes Brahms’s only violin concerto, one of the most important violin concertos of the 19th century, is now a central repertoire piece. This fact is all the more notable, as, by his own account, Brahms understood “all too little” about the instrument. The concerto was composed at Wörthersee during the summer of 1878 in collaboration with Joseph Joachim, a leading contemporary violinist. The solo part is extremely demanding, with “really unusual difficulties.” This circumstance did not go unno...