Violin Sonata No. 1 (Schumann)

Violin Sonata No. 1 (Schumann)

The "violin sonata no. 1" in A minor, opus 105 of Robert Schumann was written the week of September 12– 16 September, 1851. Schumann was reported to have expressed displeasure with the work ("I did not like the first Sonata for Violin and Piano; so I wrote a second one, which I hope has turned out better") though as pointed out in the notes to the Hänssler recording he was willing to have it published by Breitkopf und Härtel the year it was written, so this remark may have been facetious. This was also the year of the premiere of the Rhenish symphony [http://www.robertaonthearts.com/id105.html] , and among compositions the substantial revision of the fourth symphony, the third piano trio, the oratorio Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, a number of piano works and two of his concert overtures, "Julius Caesar" and "Hermann und Dorothea" after Goethe. ( [http://www.classical.net/music/composer/works/schumann/] )

It was given its official premiere by Clara Schumann and Ferdinand David in March 1852 [http://uk.geocities.com/robert_schumann_19980225/op105.html] .

The sonata has three movements:

#Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck (dotted quarter=68, or, 68 dotted quarter notes in each minute), 6/8 time, 209 bars in A minor
#Allegretto (eighth note=96), 2/4 time, 79 bars in F major
#Lebhaft (quarter note=94), 2/4 time, 213 bars in A minor

Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck

The first movement begins passionately, with theme first played by the violin and amenable like so many of Schumann's themes to canonic treatment. (Schumann once remarked on this fact himself. [http://www.fuguemasters.com/schumann.html] ) This theme serves to introduce a compact, driven sonata form pushed ahead by economical use of rhythms (new themes often are based on some of the same rhythms as older ones, and overlap with them as well), by the intensity added by canonic treatment of themes, centering around, pushing towards, a small number of climaxes one of which is the reappearance of that opening theme in a much-slowed-down form just preceding (and followed without pause by) the recapitulation.

The coda is in two parts — quiet sustained over an F-E pedal with several recurrences of the main theme, gaining intensity and leading to a section — most of a page — in which the violin has running sixteenth notes, the piano mostly chords, until the final harmonies A major - A minor - F major - A minor.

Allegretto

An intermezzo at a brisk pace somewhere between a slow movement and a scherzo, in the form of a rondo with two episodes (in F minor and D minor, the latter "Bewegter").

Lebhaft

The finale begins with a theme similar to that which opens Felix Mendelssohn's second piano trio. The sixteenth-note motion dominates the exposition, present in all but a few bars. A group of themes in F major enters about halfway through the fifty-eight bar exposition, but is quickly diverted back to the main flow of A minor. The development introduces new themes mostly based on the exposition's material (some by augmentation and other variation) and treats them, again, canonically before gradually introducing a songful episode. This is also based on the main material of the movement, and is only a brief moment in which to relax before the scurrying sixteenths return. A transitional passage leads to the recapitulation, which is for about twenty bars the same as the equivalent passage in the exposition. The material which leads to the second group opens in C major this time rather than A minor, however, and the second group is heard in A major.

The major-mode themes are accorded slightly less space this time around before A minor returns in the form of a quiet pair of octaves, F in tremolo in the left hand and A held in the right, occasionally alternating with the scurrying sixteenths; over which the violin plays the longer version of its main theme from the first movement, twice, then, crescendo, joins in the piano's perpetual motion frenzy until a recall of the canonic theme that had opened the development is reached - now played sforzando (mit Violoncell, Schumann also writes), opening the last stage of the coda punctuating the rush to the final chords sixteen bars later.

External links

* [http://gardnermuseum.libsyn.com/media/gardnermuseum/schumann_op105.mp3 Performance by Susie Park (violin) and Dina Vainshtein (piano)] from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format
* [http://www.gotomidori.com/english/musicnote-200302/musicnote-14schumann.html Notes by Midori on the sonata]
* [http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/67180-N.asp More on the chronology of the sonata and more description]
*IMSLP2|id=Violin_Sonata_No.1%2C_Op.105_%28Schumann%2C_Robert%29|cname=Violin Sonata No. 1


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Violin sonata — A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.Some violin sonatas, notably those by Mozart and early Beethoven, are… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata — (From Latin and Italian sonare , to sound ), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare , to sing ), a piece sung . The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music,… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata — Para la forma detallada del primer tiempo de la sonata clásica, véase forma sonata. Para el modelo de automóvil, véase Hyundai Sonata. Sonata es el nombre dado a distintas formas musicales, empleadas desde el período barroco hasta las… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Violin concerto — David Oistrakh playing a violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written si …   Wikipedia

  • sonata — /seuh nah teuh/, n. Music. a composition for one or two instruments, typically in three or four movements in contrasted forms and keys. [1685 95; < It < L sonata, fem. of sonatus (ptp. of sonare to SOUND1). See SONANT, ATE1] * * * I Musical form… …   Universalium

  • Violin Concerto (Schumann) — Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D minor, WoO 23 was his only violin concerto and one of his last significant compositions, and one that remained unknown to all but a very small circle for more than 80 years after it was written. Composition… …   Wikipedia

  • F-A-E Sonata — The F A E Sonata, a four movement work for violin and piano, is a collaborative musical work by three composers: Robert Schumann, the young Johannes Brahms, and Schumann s pupil Albert Dietrich. It was composed in Düsseldorf in October 1853. The… …   Wikipedia

  • List of compositions by Robert Schumann — This list of compositions by Robert Schumann is classified into piano, vocal, choral and orchestral works. The German composer Schumann wrote almost exclusively for the piano until 1840, when he burst into song composition around the time of his… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Schumann — Robert Schumann, [Daverio, Grove online. According to Daverio, there is no evidence of a middle name Alexander which is given in some sources.] sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, [Scholes, page 932.] (June 8, 1810 ndash; July 29, 1856) …   Wikipedia

  • Piano sonata — A piano sonata is a sonata written for unaccompanied piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although occasionally there are just one or two movements. The first movement is usually composed in sonata form. The… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”