Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

Written for Joseph Joachim and premiered in Leipzig on New Year's Day 1879 with Brahms conducting. Famously 'symphonic' — the soloist waits through nearly three minutes of orchestral exposition, and Sarasate grumbled that the slow movement's one real melody belongs to the oboe. But that equality between soloist and orchestra is exactly its greatness. The Hungarian-style rondo finale salutes Joachim's heritage, and his cadenza remains the one most often played.