The work was premiered at the
Gewandhaus, Leipzig, on 1 January 1879, by Joachim, who insisted on opening the concert with the
Beethoven Violin Concerto, written in the same key, and closing with the Brahms. Brahms complained that "it was a lot of D major—and not much else on the program". Joachim was not presenting two established works, but an established one and a new, difficult one by a composer who had a reputation for being difficult. The two works also share some striking similarities. For instance, Brahms has the violin enter with the timpani after the orchestral introduction: this is a clear homage to Beethoven, whose violin concerto also makes unusual use of the timpani. Brahms conducted the premiere. Various modifications were made between then and the work's publication by
Fritz Simrock later in the year. Critical reaction to the work was mixed: the canard that the work was not so much for violin as "against the violin" is attributed equally to conductor
Hans von Bülow and to
Joseph Hellmesberger Sr., to whom Brahms entrusted the Vienna premiere, which was rapturously received by the public. Joachim gave the British premiere at London's
Crystal Palace on 22 February 1879 with
August Manns conducting. The cooling of his friendship with Brahms, who took Joachim's wife's side when his marriage collapsed, seems to have put him off campaigning actively for the concerto. Most of his colleagues disliked it.
Henryk Wieniawski called the work "unplayable", and the violin virtuoso
Pablo de Sarasate refused to play it because he did not wish to "fall so low" as to "stand on the rostrum, violin in hand and listen to the oboe playing the only tune in the adagio", though conceding the work to be "very good music". and
Hector Berlioz's
Harold in Italy, for making the soloist "almost part of the orchestra". Three of Joachim's pupils,
Marie Soldat,
Gabriele Wietrowetz, and
Leonora Jackson did as much as anyone to help the piece gain a foothold. ==In popular culture==