Rode, Pierre (1774-1830)

The first movement, Moderato, of Rode's Violin Concerto No. 10 in B minor, probably written between 1804 and 1808, begins with a martial orchestral statement, and, unlike Concerto No. 7, includes trumpets in the orchestra. After the usual peregrinations, the soloist emerges with a dramatic lyrical statement that, after passage-work, devolves to one of Rode's signature dolce themes; the first solo ends in a flurry of passage-work ending on a trill. The soloist's next entrance features a passage in double stops (relatively rare in Rode) and later triplets. From his Eighth Concerto onward Rode often connected his second and third movements by a cadenza for solo violin, and he follows that procedure in the Adagio of his Tenth Concerto. The ensuing Tempo di polacca is a delightful and sparkling conclusion to the concerto.