Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto Op.15, was composed in 1938–39 and premiered in New York in March 1940 with Antonio Brosa as soloist and Sir John Barbirolli conducting. the concerto balances incisive, often percussive orchestral textures with long lyrical lines for the soloist and demands both virtuosic technique and wide expressive range from the violinist.

The concerto is in three linked movements—I. Moderato con moto – Agitato – Tempo primo; II. Vivace – Animando – Largamente – Cadenza; III. Passacaglia: Andante lento (Un poco meno mosso)—and typically lasts about 31–34 minutes in performance. The work opens with a recurring timpani figure that pervades the score, the central movement functions as a motoric scherzo culminating in an extended solo cadenza, and the finale is a large passacaglia in which variations develop the concerto’s core material.