performed by Carolyn Huebl, violin; Mark Wait, piano (You can find this recording on Spotify, or with different performers on SoundCloud, but probably only if you’re in the U.S.) (cover image by Jez Timms) Alfred Schnittke published four violin concertos … Continue reading Schnittke Violin Sonata (1955)
performed by Dumas and Pires (cover image by Joshua Torres) In typical subtitle fashion, the Spring label was given to this work after the composer’s death, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s inaccurate or unwarranted. Beethoven’s fifth violin sonata was completed … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 5 in F, op. 24, ‘Spring’
performed by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, or below by Maria João Pires and Augustin Dumay (cover image by Jez Timms) Beethoven’s fourth violin sonata dates from 1801 and is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries, an Austrian nobleman, banker, and … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 4 in Am, op. 23
performed by Johannes Søe Hansen, violin; Christina Bjørkøe, piano (cover image by Maciej Rusek) In her review of the album on which this recording appears, Catherine Nelson describes the work as “nimble and lovely” with “fluid, folk-inspired phrases.” If you read … Continue reading Holmboe Violin Sonata no. 2, op. 16
performed by Johannes Søe Hansen, violin; Christina Bjørkøe, piano (cover image by Jack Anstey) As I said at the beginning of the year, we’ve got a new series on the blog, an ongoing one, and Holmboe was one of the first … Continue reading Holmboe Violin Sonata no. 1, op. 2a
performed by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) Today’s work is the third and final installment in the op. 12 piano sonatas, completed in 1798 and dedicated to Antonio Salieri, with whom Beethoven studied for a … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 3 in E-flat, op. 12 no. 3
performed by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich (cover image by Annie Spratt) As discussed in Monday’s post, these three violin sonatas are Beethoven’s first, dating from 1798, and dedicated to Antonio Salieri, the supposed antagonist of that Mozart film. These … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 2 in A, op. 12 no. 2
performed by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich (cover image by Annie Spratt) Do you think there could be anything challenging about this work? Well, you’d probably not have agreed with the critics of Beethoven’s time. As this is the first … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 1 in D, op. 12 no. 1
performed by Shlomo Mintz and Yefim Bronfman, or below by Oistrakh and Oborin (cover photo by Jace Grandinetti) Confusingly, Prokofiev’s violin sonata no. 1 was completed two years after his violin sonata no. 2, which originates from his flute sonata … Continue reading Prokofiev Violin Sonata no. 1 In F minor, op. 80
performed by Oleg Kagan & Sviatoslav Richter, or below by David Oistrakh and Vladimir Yampolski (cover image by Sergei Akulich) As you may have read from this past weekend’s article on Hindemith’s early first (posthumously published) string quartet, its composition straddled … Continue reading Hindemith Violin Sonata in E flat, op. 11, no. 1
performed by Augustin Dumay and Maria João Pires, or below by Julia Fischer and Milana Chernyavska (cover image by Ravi Roshan) Today we discuss the first (and I think only) work of this little stretch of sonatas that isn’t a “no. 1” … Continue reading Grieg Violin Sonata no. 3 in Cm, op. 45
performed (and premiered) by Maria Bachmann and Jon Klibonoff, second movement below The last work in our little series of pieces for the violin is a very recent work, having only been premiered in 2009. The piece was written specifically for Bachmann, and … Continue reading Glass Sonata for Violin and Piano
Fugue for Thought 