Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 03/01/2005, uploaded on 01/26/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Allegro vivo; Intermède: Fantasque et léger; Finale: Très animé

French composer Claude Debussy began an ambitious project in 1915: he was to write six sonatas, each for different instruments.  Although he died before he finished all six, the Violin Sonata, his last completed work, is one of the three that Debussy was able to compose.  The work includes a huge range of colors and atmospheres, and the performers are challenged to find unique ways to play their instruments in order to point this out.

The beginning of the first movement, marked Allegro vivo, is subdued with a hint of sadness.  Its middle section includes strong influences from the music of the Far East, and the movement ends abruptly after the violin wails loudly.  The middle movement, Fantasque et léger, is very capricious, and the music sounds almost drunken much of the time!  However, Debussy includes in this movement a melodious and melancholy second theme, which comes as a complete contrast to the scherzando quality of the bulk of the movement.  The final movement, Très animé, is the most virtuosic of the three, but also includes a slower middle section that has many sudden changes in character and texture.  The Sonata ends triumphantly with both instruments playing to their fullest.    Shana Douglas

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.