Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

George Enescu

Sonata No. 2 in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 6

 

Although George Enescu composed his Sonata No. 2 in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 6, in 1899, when he was only eighteen, it is now considered the work with which he first demonstrated full artistic maturity. This highly precocious musician, who appeared on the musical scene when he was barely more than an adolescent, dedicated the composition to Joseph and Jacques Thibaud, and it was the later – one of the most celebrated violinists of his day – who gave the first performance, with the composer at the piano. The first of the Sonata’s three movements is marked Assez mouvementé; in it, Enescu effectively fuses traditional Germanic style (Brahms) with a more modern, French-inspired musical language (Fauré, Debussy). But by far the most interesting part of the piece is the second movement (Tranquillement), which is based on a broad, wandering, modal melody in the violin part; its metric style is very free, and it is clearly related to Romanian folk music. In the finale (Vif), on the other hand, this pupil of Fauré explicitly pays homage to fin de siècle French music.

1. Assez mouvementé
2. Tranquillement
3. Vif

Performers

Performance