Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

Alfred Schnittke

Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano

 

Alfred Schnittke’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, composed in 1963, consists of four movements. On the whole, the work measures itself against both Dmitri Shostakovich’s musical language and post-Webernian serialism – elements that are blended, or simply set side by side, within a freely experimental stylistic context. The first movement, Andante, is decidedly lyrical and expressive in character and is built around a twelve-note theme, whereas the following Allegretto is rhythmically agitated and nervous in a way that reminds us of Shostakovich. The Shostakovich model is even more obvious in the following Largo, a series of variations constructed around a four-note motif in accordance with a method used by the Russian composer in his well-known Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano. An Allegretto scherzando full of sardonic, humorous characteristics and lively instrumentation, concludes the sonata.

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1. Andante
2. Allegretto
3. Largo
4. Allegretto scherzando

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