The Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major was César Franck’s only sonata for the instrument. It has become a staple of the violin repertoire and stands alongside the Symphony in D minor as one of the composer’s finest and most beloved compositions. Though composed in 1886, the sonata’s genesis may have actually taken place nearly three decades earlier in 1858. Franck had promised a violin sonata for Cosima von Bülow, the daughter of Franz Liszt and later the wife of Richard Wagner. The proposed sonata never materialized but it is possible that whatever shards remained, if any, from Franck’s work may have become the basis of the present work. Franck presented the A major sonata to the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as a wedding present on September 26, 1886. After a hurried rehearsal, Ysaÿe and pianist Léontine Bordes-Pène performed the sonata for the other wedding guests during Ysaÿe’s nuptial day. Its official premiere public performance was given by Ysaÿe and Bordes-Pène a few months later on December 16 at the Musée Moderne de Peinture at Brussels. The sonata was the last item on a rather lengthy program that had begun at 3pm. The setting sun and the gallery authorities’ refusal to allow artificial light threatened to leave Franck’s masterpiece unperformed. Yet, according to Vincent d’Indy, who was present at the performance, as the light continued to fade, Ysaÿe and Bordes-Pène performed the last three movements of the sonata from memory. The Violin Sonata has since appeared in transcriptions for many instruments, but only that for cello earned Franck’s official endorsement.
Adhering to both the Classical Viennese tradition Franck gravitated towards in his final years and his luscious Romantic harmonic language, the Violin Sonata spans a four-movement design of dramatic proportions. A lyrical Allegretto opens the sonata, supplanting the usual quick-paced first movement, but by no means diminished in intensity or profundity. Turbulence arrives, however, in the Allegro second movement, opening with a furious introduction from the piano, followed by a passionate melody from the violin. The length of this movement and the weightiness of his principal ideas give it the impression of an opening sonata-allegro movement, leaving one to wonder if the preceding Allegretto was not but a protracted introduction. Serving as the sonata’s slow movement is the Recitativo-Fantasia. Certainly the most striking movement, it is a piece of great depth and emotion and the darkening gloam in which it received its first performance could only have enhanced its gloomy and ghostly quality. The twilight of the third movement, however, is gloriously dispelled in the bright opening theme of the finale. Yet, even with this cheerful introduction, the last movement is not without its intense and passionate moments brought on by the intermingling of ideas from the previous movements. In radiant glory, the sonata comes to a brilliant and triumphant close.Joseph DuBose
ésar Franck was born in Liège, Belgium in 1822 and became a French citizen in 1873. He founded an organ school in France and also laid the foundation of the development of modern French chamber music. Although he did not write a lot of chamber music, his chamber music works have become an important part of the European late romantic repertoire.
The violin sonata is one of the composer´s last works, written when he was 64.It has, together with the sonatas by Brahms, found an important place in the violin literature. It is his only violin sonata and was written for the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as a wedding gift in 1886.Ysaÿe performed it that same year in an art gallery in Brussels.
The first movement is harmonic and reflective, beginning with a soft chord by the piano continuing with a beautiful theme on the violin. The whole movement can be seen as an introduction to the passionate second movement. The beginning of the second movement, an Allegro in the key of d-minor, is turbulent but withdraws to a more peaceful state. The third movement is free in its structure, and at the same time soft and intense in character. Franck named this movement “Recitative-Fantasia”. The Finale is the second fast movement of the sonata and begins with a sunny theme in canon, also repeating some elements from the second movement. It ends in a glorious culmination, as a proclamation of love for the wedding couple. Linda Hedlund
Classical Music | Violin Music
César Franck
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8 Play
Recorded on 11/16/2011, uploaded on 04/11/2012
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major was César Franck’s only sonata for the instrument. It has become a staple of the violin repertoire and stands alongside the Symphony in D minor as one of the composer’s finest and most beloved compositions. Though composed in 1886, the sonata’s genesis may have actually taken place nearly three decades earlier in 1858. Franck had promised a violin sonata for Cosima von Bülow, the daughter of Franz Liszt and later the wife of Richard Wagner. The proposed sonata never materialized but it is possible that whatever shards remained, if any, from Franck’s work may have become the basis of the present work. Franck presented the A major sonata to the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as a wedding present on September 26, 1886. After a hurried rehearsal, Ysaÿe and pianist Léontine Bordes-Pène performed the sonata for the other wedding guests during Ysaÿe’s nuptial day. Its official premiere public performance was given by Ysaÿe and Bordes-Pène a few months later on December 16 at the Musée Moderne de Peinture at Brussels. The sonata was the last item on a rather lengthy program that had begun at 3pm. The setting sun and the gallery authorities’ refusal to allow artificial light threatened to leave Franck’s masterpiece unperformed. Yet, according to Vincent d’Indy, who was present at the performance, as the light continued to fade, Ysaÿe and Bordes-Pène performed the last three movements of the sonata from memory. The Violin Sonata has since appeared in transcriptions for many instruments, but only that for cello earned Franck’s official endorsement.
Adhering to both the Classical Viennese tradition Franck gravitated towards in his final years and his luscious Romantic harmonic language, the Violin Sonata spans a four-movement design of dramatic proportions. A lyrical Allegretto opens the sonata, supplanting the usual quick-paced first movement, but by no means diminished in intensity or profundity. Turbulence arrives, however, in the Allegro second movement, opening with a furious introduction from the piano, followed by a passionate melody from the violin. The length of this movement and the weightiness of his principal ideas give it the impression of an opening sonata-allegro movement, leaving one to wonder if the preceding Allegretto was not but a protracted introduction. Serving as the sonata’s slow movement is the Recitativo-Fantasia. Certainly the most striking movement, it is a piece of great depth and emotion and the darkening gloam in which it received its first performance could only have enhanced its gloomy and ghostly quality. The twilight of the third movement, however, is gloriously dispelled in the bright opening theme of the finale. Yet, even with this cheerful introduction, the last movement is not without its intense and passionate moments brought on by the intermingling of ideas from the previous movements. In radiant glory, the sonata comes to a brilliant and triumphant close. Joseph DuBose
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ésar Franck was born in Liège, Belgium in 1822 and became a French citizen in 1873. He founded an organ school in France and also laid the foundation of the development of modern French chamber music. Although he did not write a lot of chamber music, his chamber music works have become an important part of the European late romantic repertoire.
The violin sonata is one of the composer´s last works, written when he was 64. It has, together with the sonatas by Brahms, found an important place in the violin literature. It is his only violin sonata and was written for the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as a wedding gift in 1886. Ysaÿe performed it that same year in an art gallery in Brussels.
The first movement is harmonic and reflective, beginning with a soft chord by the piano continuing with a beautiful theme on the violin. The whole movement can be seen as an introduction to the passionate second movement. The beginning of the second movement, an Allegro in the key of d-minor, is turbulent but withdraws to a more peaceful state. The third movement is free in its structure, and at the same time soft and intense in character. Franck named this movement “Recitative-Fantasia”. The Finale is the second fast movement of the sonata and begins with a sunny theme in canon, also repeating some elements from the second movement. It ends in a glorious culmination, as a proclamation of love for the wedding couple. Linda Hedlund
More music by César Franck
Prelude, Figue and Variation for organ, Op. 18
Alegretto Moderato, from Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major (transcribed for cello)
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8
Prélude, Choral et Fugue
Prelude, Fugue et Variation, op. 18
Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Violin Sonata in A Major, Allegro
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, M. 8
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