[3] It received its first broadcast performance with the BBC Orchestra, conducted by Clarence Raybould and Thomas Matthews as soloist, on 28 April 1941.
[2] The first revision, including alterations of the solo violin part prepared with the assistance of Manoug Parikian, was performed by Bronislav Gimpel and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Thomas Beecham in 1951.
[5] Britten wrote to Albert Goldberg in October 1950, saying:[2] It was written in 1939, & although it has been played quite a lot here & abroad I have never been happy about the form of it...
As the finale, Britten uses a passacaglia: a set of variations on a ground bass, in the tradition of the Baroque chaconnes by Purcell and Bach.
The ground bass, tonally unstable, is initially introduced by the trombone, as the violin recalls its lyrical theme from the first movement.
By the end, the ground bass is reduced to chant-like reminiscences; the orchestra leaves hints of an unmistakable D major chord, while the soloist is left undecided in a trill between the notes F-natural and G-flat.