Violin Sonata No. 2 (Schumann)
The Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D minor Op. 121 by Robert Schumann was completed in November 1851,[1] Dedicated to the violinist Ferdinand David, the sonata received its first public performance from Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim on October 29, 1853 in Düsseldorf, in a concert that marked the beginning of a long term musical collaboration.[2]
The work is in four movements:
- Ziemilich langsam - lebhaft
- Sehr lebhaft
- Leise, einfach
- Bewegt
The first movement begins with a stately sequence of chords, the contour of which is then used for the first subject proper. The fourth bar of this theme contains a distinctive syncopated rhythm that plays a role in the link to the second subject, and is also used extensively in the development.[3] The vigorously driving second movement in B minor (♯vi in relation to the home key) is of the scherzo genre, and appears to have influenced the young Johannes Brahms, particularly in the C minor scherzo he wrote for the F-A-E Sonata. Near the end of this movement, the chorale melody "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" is quoted triumphantly in the major.[2] The relatively serene G major third movement is a set of variations, opening with a passage of violin pizzicato triple-stops,[4] mirroring the chordal introduction of the first movement. The finale returns to the key and mood of the beginning, with a long and dramatic trajectory toward an exuberant conclusion in the major.[5]
References
- ↑ Daverio, John. Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age" (Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 460.
- 1 2 Violin Sonata No 2 in D minor, Op 121 (Schumann) - from CDA67180 - Hyperion Records - MP3 and Lossless downloads
- ↑ Perry, Beate, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Schumann (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2007), p. 138
- ↑ Kim, Dami. Sonata No. 2 in D minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 121 | Dami Kim | Violin Music | Free classical music online
- ↑ DuBose, Joseph. Sonata No. 2 in D minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 121 | Dami Kim | Violin Music | Free classical music online
External links
- Violin Sonata No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project