Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 09/16/2004, uploaded on 04/16/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sergei Prokofiev’s Five Melodies for violin originated out his Songs Without Words for voice and piano composed in 1920. At the request of the violinist Pawel Kochanski, Prokofiev transcribed the vocalises for violin, while adding harmonies and taking advantage of the techniques available to the instrument. Like the later Sonata for Flute that was also transcribed for violin, this work today is more often heard in its arrangement than its original form.

Without descriptive titles, the five pieces of opus 35 are identified only by their tempo markings. The opening Andante is dreamy and contemplative. Tinged with melancholy, it seems lost in its own ruminations, yet fails to achieve any kind of solace. The following Lento, ma non troppo is likewise pensive in its outer sections, but finds a resolve that develops into a motoric and somewhat playful central episode.

The Animato ma non allegro which stands third in the collection takes on a different character than the two preceding pieces. An anxious theme opens, establishing an agitated state that takes some time to settle down. Eventually, the music turns eerie and remains unsettled. A reprise of the agitated theme brings back the restlessness of the opening, but the piece subsides once more leading to an uneasy conclusion. Different still, the following Allegretto leggero e scherzando is blithe and cheery. Lastly, the closing Andante non troppo returns to the introspection of the first movement. A haunting theme sounds in the violin over a mesmerizing piano accompaniment in the beginning of the piece. The middle episode, however, turns more playful revealing Prokofiev’s characteristic wittiness and sarcasm. In the closing section, the piece turns even more ethereal as the principal melody is heard in the violin’s highest register.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.