Ernst von Dohnányi's Concerto for violin No. 1 (1920), a bold virtuoso work, almost sounds as a throwback to Mendelssohn or Bruch's violin music. Indeed, it is only a quotation, in the first movement, from Richard Strauss' Salome that identifies this composition as a twentieth century work. That movement, Molto moderato, maestoso e rubato, features two extended cadenzas that are as bold in their soaring, virtuoso quality as the orchestra, around them, is muted. The second movement, Andante, is cast in a decidedly subdued, sentimental, and lyrical mode, the orchestra playing a somewhat bolder role, exemplified by the horn section's "answer" to the solo violin. Amost a free-standing in its own right, the third movement, Molto vivace, achieves a balance between the soloist and orchestra, as well as a boldness of expression that eludes the other three movements. In the fourth movement, Tempo del primo pezzo, rubato, Dohnányi pays tribute to his one-time patron Johannes Brahms by building the main body of the movement around the principal theme from the fourth movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 (which itself was derived from the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9). Toward the end, the soloist, taking a leading role, introduces a contemplative tone, which dominates until the final bars, an exuberant statement by both the soloist and the orchestra..

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