Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 12/26/2006, uploaded on 01/11/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonata for Violin and Piano in C minor, Op. 45            Edvard Grieg

I. Allegro molto ed appassionato;  II.  Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza;  III. Allegro animato

This afternoon marks the first time I have performed in recital the sonata for violin and piano by the great Norwegian composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg.  In fact I have not spent any time with this piece since I was around ten years old while under the tutelage of Dorothy DeLay.  I remember that studying this piece was an integral part of my development as a violinist.  I believe that my teacher was trying to help me establish a richer and broader tone through Grieg's composition.  Grieg's piece is ideal for this type of study with all of its lush writing, making ample use of the violin's lower register.  The composer had already entered retirement when he began working on this piece. Allegro molto ed appasionato juxtaposes passionate outbursts alongside brooding and tender phrases in its hefty exposition. The development is brief and employs an augmented deceptive recapitulation. An exciting coda completes the movement. The second movement, in ternary form, stands on its own in sheer beauty and depth.  I must admit that it is this movement that has attracted me to play this work once again. Its middle section continues an established interplay of broad statements between the instruments, betraying playful facets of Norwegian folk music with melody and rhythm. Allegro animato begins with a rustic tune embellished by shimmering, and later deliberate, sextuplet accompaniment. It is binary form with a cantabile second section building towards a dynamic climax.

This is one of Grieg's profound works, written towards the end of his life. Its depth can be attributed to both a slowed and more painstaking writing process as well as multiple battles with depression. His compositions exemplify an undying commitment to create a place and style for Norwegian musical language. That commitment greatly inspired contemporaneous French impressionists in their search for new sound. Maurice Ravel said, "The generation of French composers to which I belong has been strongly attracted to his music. There is no composer to whom I feel a closer affinity - besides Debussy - than Grieg."     Andrew Kohji Taylor

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.