Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 08/02/2005, uploaded on 01/26/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonate pour violon et piano      Claude Debussy

This sonata in G sounds decidedly French with its meticulous craftsmanship, aristocratic taste, and refined sensibility.  This was Debussy's last complete work; it premiered in May 1917, with the composer at the piano and Gaston Poulet playing violin.

The poignant opening chords of the Allegro vivo give an atmosphere of nostalgia and sadness. Rhythmic and harmonic ambiguity clouds the whole movement, but there is an underlying momentum that builds to a dynamic finish. In contrast, the middle movement is mostly light and fantastic, but has a second theme that is surprisingly sensuous. The last movement reprises the opening theme in a modified form before growing into a virtuosic showcase of agility.

I have a personal fondness for this piece.  It was taught to me by violinist Gérard Poulet, son of Gaston Poulet, who not only had premiered the work, but had helped Debussy transfer the fantastic world of new sounds in the composer's head into musical notation. Because standard musical notation limited what Debussy could express on paper, it was especially fascinating to have the younger Monsieur Poulet show me what his father had shown him.    Eugenia Choi

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.