Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Grieg)
Encyclopedia
Norwegian
composer
Edvard Grieg
wrote three violin sonata
s. They are all fine examples of his musical nationalism, since they all contain references or similarities to Norwegian folk song.
The three Sonatas for violin and piano by Edvard Grieg were written between 1865 and 1887.
, near Copenhagen. The piece was composed shortly after his only piano sonata was completed that same summer.
Concerning the piece, Norwegian composer Gerhard Schjelderup
commented: it is "the work of a youth who has seen only the sunny side of life."
The violin's opening theme in the first movement runs thus:
: 1st mvt, violin, primary theme
.
On the second sonata, Schjelderup remarked: it is "the gift to the world of a man who has also shivered in the cold mists of night." Also, due to the sonata's tragic qualities, he considered the piece more Norwegian than the first sonata and "a Norway without tragedy is not a complete Norway."
When Grieg presented the sonata to his teacher Niels Gade, he proclaimed the work "too Norwegian" and professed that his next sonata should be less Norwegian. Grieg, reportedly, in defiance claimed that his next sonata would be even more Norwegian.
The violin's primary and secondary themes from the first movement are presented below:
: 1st mvt, violin, primary theme
: 1st mvt, violin, secondary theme
The sonata remains the most popular of the three works, and has established itself in the standard repertoire. The work was also a personal favorite of Grieg's. The sonata premiered with Grieg himself at the piano with well-known violinist Adolf Brodsky in Leipzig
. To a certain extent, Grieg built on Norwegian folk melodies and rhythms in this three-movement sonata. However, for Grieg the second sonata was the "Norwegian" sonata whereas he considered the third "the one with the broader horizon".
The first movement is characterized by its bold and heroic opening theme.
: 1st mvt, violin, opening bars to the primary theme
The agitated opening theme is contrasted with a more lyrical secondary theme.
: 1st mvt, violin, portion of the secondary theme
The second movement opens with a serene piano solo in E major with a lyrical melodic line. In the middle section, Grieg uses a playful dance tune. The finale is written in sonata form
with coda but lacks a development section.
This was the last piece Grieg composed using sonata form.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
wrote three violin sonata
Violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.-A:*Ella Adayevskaya**Sonata Greca for Violin or Clarinet and Piano...
s. They are all fine examples of his musical nationalism, since they all contain references or similarities to Norwegian folk song.
The three Sonatas for violin and piano by Edvard Grieg were written between 1865 and 1887.
- Violin Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op.Opus numberAn Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
8 was written in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in 1865. - Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13 was written in OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
(then Christiania) in 1867. - Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45 was completed while Grieg was living in TroldhaugenTroldhaugenTroldhaugen was the home of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and his wife Nina Grieg. Troldhaugen is located in Bergen, Norway and consists of the Edvard Grieg Museum, Grieg’s villa, the hut where he composed music, and his and his wife's gravesite....
in 1887.
Violin Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 8
Grieg composed this sonata in the summer of 1865 while on holiday with Benjamin Feddersen in Rungsted, DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, near Copenhagen. The piece was composed shortly after his only piano sonata was completed that same summer.
Concerning the piece, Norwegian composer Gerhard Schjelderup
Gerhard Schjelderup
Gerhard Rosenkrone Schjelderup was a Norwegian composer, known especially for his operas. One of five children, each with an artistic bent, his talent was encouraged from youth. In 1878 he traveled to Paris, where he studied cello with Auguste Franchomme and music theory with Augustin Savard...
commented: it is "the work of a youth who has seen only the sunny side of life."
The violin's opening theme in the first movement runs thus:
: 1st mvt, violin, primary theme
Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13
This sonata was dedicated to Norwegian composer and violinist Johan SvendsenJohan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania , Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark....
.
On the second sonata, Schjelderup remarked: it is "the gift to the world of a man who has also shivered in the cold mists of night." Also, due to the sonata's tragic qualities, he considered the piece more Norwegian than the first sonata and "a Norway without tragedy is not a complete Norway."
When Grieg presented the sonata to his teacher Niels Gade, he proclaimed the work "too Norwegian" and professed that his next sonata should be less Norwegian. Grieg, reportedly, in defiance claimed that his next sonata would be even more Norwegian.
The violin's primary and secondary themes from the first movement are presented below:
: 1st mvt, violin, primary theme
: 1st mvt, violin, secondary theme
Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45
Composition on Grieg's third and final violin sonata began in the autumn of 1886. Whereas the first two sonatas were written in a matter of weeks, this sonata took him several months to complete.The sonata remains the most popular of the three works, and has established itself in the standard repertoire. The work was also a personal favorite of Grieg's. The sonata premiered with Grieg himself at the piano with well-known violinist Adolf Brodsky in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. To a certain extent, Grieg built on Norwegian folk melodies and rhythms in this three-movement sonata. However, for Grieg the second sonata was the "Norwegian" sonata whereas he considered the third "the one with the broader horizon".
The first movement is characterized by its bold and heroic opening theme.
: 1st mvt, violin, opening bars to the primary theme
The agitated opening theme is contrasted with a more lyrical secondary theme.
: 1st mvt, violin, portion of the secondary theme
The second movement opens with a serene piano solo in E major with a lyrical melodic line. In the middle section, Grieg uses a playful dance tune. The finale is written in sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
with coda but lacks a development section.
This was the last piece Grieg composed using sonata form.
External links
- Performance of Violin Sonata No. 3 by Nicholas Kendall (violin) and Robert Koenig(piano) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format