"Kreutzer" Sonata - Sabrina and Hitomi

[wkmt]

Hitomi Inujima and Sabrina Curpanen in “A major” evening, Saturday 25th March
 

 
 
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 30 n. 1 in A major
Allegro
Adagio molto espressivo
Allegretto con variazioni
 
Hitomi Inujima Violin
Sabrina Curpanen Piano
 
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 47 n. 9 in A major “Kreutzer Sonata”
Adagio sostenuto – Presto
Andante con variazioni
Presto
 
Hitomi Inujima Violin
Sabrina Curpanen Piano
 
 
L. Van Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major op. 30 n. 1

 
In summer 1802, on the advice of his latest doctor, Beethoven left the noisy city Vienna for the quiet countryside of Heiligenstadt with the assurance that the new environment would be beneficial to his hearing and his general health.
 
The Op. 30 Sonatas for Piano and Violin that Beethoven completed by the time he returned to Vienna in the middle of October 1802 belong to a new creative language, dynamic and dramatic musical speech that characterises the creations of his so-called "second period." It was also the time when Beethoven wrote the most famous letter ever written by a musician - the "Heiligenstadt Testament." It meant to be his will written to his brothers. Even if he never sent it to his family he decide to keep it in his papers and it has been found after his death. Beethoven 's fears and desperation can be read in his words:
 "O Providence - grant me at last but one day of pure joy - it is so long since real joy echoed in my heart!"
 
In musical terms, the second period is based on a new method of composing: developing a small set of themes into long sections or even in an entire movement. This working method generates the main theme of the opening movement of the A major Sonata, in which most of the violin line and both hands of the piano are derived from either the quick turn figure or the flowing quarter-note. The second subject, a lyrical melody with a trill, provides thematic and tonal contrast with the first one.
 
The second theme and the turn figure provide most of the material for the development section. A full recapitulation of the exposition, adjusted to the original key, rounds out the movement.
 
About the Sonata's second movement, Jelly d'Aranyi, the brilliant Hungarian violinist who inspired works from Ravel, Bartók and Vaughan Williams, wrote, "The Adagio is a great favorite of mine. The blend of the two instruments is so perfect a thing.... The whole movement has such a feeling of tenderness and sorrow it reminds me, if I am allowed the comparison, of Michelangelo's Pietŕ, and his unfinished marvel, the Descent of the Cross. I do not want to suggest that this Adagio could be called religious music, I am only thinking in both cases of the expression of infinite tenderness and sorrow, whether put into sound or carved in stone."

The finale of op. 30 n. 1 is in the form of theme and variations. There are six variations and a Coda, with Variation V in the tonic minor and Variation VI in a classical popular dance style and a faster tempo. Variations I, II, III, IV make use of internal repeats and first/second time bar while the last two variations are fully written out. A bright, joyful variation is followed by another one in a more lyrical and intimate character. The ability of the performers is to clearly communicate these different feelings, taking the audience to this journey where the theme yet recognisable is gradually transformed through each variations.
 
L. Van Beethoven: Violin Sonata “Kreutzer” op. 47 n. 9
The Violin Sonata No. 9 op 47, commonly known as the Kreutzer Sonata, is considered one of the most demanding Violin and Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. Its unusual length (a typical performance lasts 40 minutes) and emotional contrast are a big challenge for the performers: the first movement is predominantly furious, the second is meditative and the third is joyous and exuberant.
 
In the composer's 1803 sketchbook the work was titled "Sonata per il Pianoforte ed uno violino obligato in uno stile molto concertante come d’un concerto". ["Sonata for Piano and obligato violin in a very concertante style as a Concerto]. The two instruments are in a complete symbiosis and there is an active communications between Violin and Piano which doesn’t act as a simple accompaniment. The final movement of the work was originally written for another earlier sonata for violin and piano by Beethoven, the Op. 30, no. 1, in A major.

WANT TO COME? ENTRANCE IS OPEN PLEASE VISIT WWW.WKMT.CO.UK for more info