It is one of the extraordinary paradoxes of the nineteenth century that its greatest violin concertos were written by pianists. Mendelssohn and Brahms, for example, sought the advice of distinguished violinists such as Ferdinand David and Joseph Joachim, while Beethoven assimilated the most important currents in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century string playing through his association with numerous eminent performers. During the latter part of his time in Bonn, he worked with the violin- and cello-playing Romberg cousins Andreas and Bernhard, and he frequently attended quartet parties at the home of Emanuel Aloys Förster. He became closely associated with Wenzel Krumpholz, Anton Wranitzky, Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Karl Amenda, Franz Clement, Joseph Mayseder and Joseph Boehm during his years in Vienna; and despite increasing deafness and his inclination to scoff at advice, the experience of hearing and working with other internationally acclaimed violinists who visited Vienna, particularly Rodolphe Kreutzer, George Polgreen Bridgetower and Pierre Baillot, undoubtedly contributed significantly towards his concept of violin playing. Thus, in addition to his own German background, the principal factors which influenced Beethoven in the composition of his Violin Concerto emanated from France and Vienna.

The French connection I – principal personalities

From his early career in Bonn, Beethoven was familiar with a wide variety of French music, ranging from the repertory of the pre-revolutionary opéra comique and the lyric dramas of the 1790s, which served as his models for Fidelio, to the concertos of the French violin school.