Classical Music | Violin Music

Sergei Prokofiev

Sonata No. 1 in f minor, Op. 80 for violin and piano  Play

Sergey Ostrovsky Violin
Dror Biran Piano

Recorded on 12/11/2007, uploaded on 01/12/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

When the war engulfing the rest of the European continent came to the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany’s brutal hammer stroke in 1941, Sergei Prokofiev, along with many other artists, were evacuated away from the major cities and the Nazi’s ruthless advance. In August of that year, Prokofiev was taken to Nalchik, the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic in the North Caucasus, some nine hundred miles south of Moscow. While Stalin’s focus was fixed on the threat from the Nazis, the Soviet regime temporary relaxed the restrictions that they had placed on their artists, leaving them to indulge their true creative impulses. Many of the works that flowed from Prokofiev’s pen during this time, as well as those that followed, resonate with “darkly tragic ironies.” On the surface, one may associate these foreboding works with the presence of war in his homeland, but delving deeper, it becomes more apparent that they are artistic outlets for the composer’s critiques of Stalin’s brutal and repressive regime.

Perhaps the most startling of these works is the Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 80. Composed between 1938 and 1946, which actually places its completion after the Second Violin Sonata, it is one of the composer’s darkest and most brooding compositions. Prokofiev dedicated the work to his friend, the violinist David Oistrakh, who also premiered the work with pianist Lev Oborin. Oistrakh later performed the sonata’s first and third movements at Prokofiev’s funeral. About half an hour in length, the First Violin Sonata is cast in four movements. An ominous and foreboding Andante assai opens the work, which is followed by a diabolical and harsh Allegro brusco. A brief moment of relief comes with the otherworldly opening theme of the Andante third movement, but even its ethereal glow is paled by repressive shadows. The ensuing Finale attempts to bolster the sonata’s spirits and impart a sense of playfulness, but ultimately the ending of the first movement returns to finish the sonata in utter despair.       Joseph DuBose

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Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano in f minor, Op. 80           Sergei Prokofiev

Andante Assai; Allegro Brusco; Andante; Allegrissimo

Chamber music by Sergey Prokofiev includes two sonatas for violin and piano, the second originally for flute and piano and revised by the composer. Prokofiev completed his Sonata in f minor, Op. 80 in 1946, although some of the material dates from 1938. The work is dedicated to David Oistrakh, who also gave its first performance. The composer collaborated closely with Oistrakh to ensure that the solo writing is unforced, virtuosic and eminently suited to the instrument. The piano part is also demanding, as Prokofiev was a concert pianist of international stature. The work's tone is highly charged, fraught with intensity and passion.

The first movement includes a short but often-repeated four-bar theme which makes uncommon use of the falling fifth interval. Fragmentary references to the first theme bring on a passage with the violin playing fast scales over almost the full range of the instrument, while the piano has a quiet, glassy chorale. Prokofiev said it should sound like "wind in a graveyard". A return of the original theme is briefly extended, and the movement ends on a poignantly empty chord.  The second movement seems all about hammered chords, relieved alternately by a march, passages of triplets, and a couple of tranquillo sections. The movement ends fortissimo.  The following andante is very "French" in effect-misty and coloristic-in simple ABA form plus coda.

The final Allegrissimo is fascinating, particularly for listeners who like math in their music. The basic rhythmic pattern of eighth-notes, shown in its written metrical form, is   5/8   7/8   7/8   8/8. The pattern goes five cycles at the beginning, adds three extra chords, then goes around twice more (decorated by the violin) and most of a third time before breaking down into its smaller components. A brief middle section is a moment of relaxation before the math returns. The music heats up into a frenzy before moving into a version of the first movement, which turns into a brief closing theme and a sweet epilogue as the piece ends.       Michael Cansfield