1,[1] is a composition that was adapted from an earlier, unpublished and unrecorded work by Penderecki, the Concerto per violino grande e orchestra.
The concerto was commissioned by Bronisław Eichenholz,[2] and was originally conceived for a violino grande, an instrument with five strings[3] that combines the ranges of the violin and the viola.
The concerto was completed in 1967 and premiered in Östersund on July 1, 1967, with Eichenholz playing the violino grande and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Henryk Czyż.
[4] The original version of the Concerto consisted of two movements, titled Quasi purgatorio and Suoni celeste.
The concerto begins with a lento introduction that features an initial cadenza, which was specifically composed for some of its performances.