Violin Sonata (Elgar)
Encyclopedia
Sir Edward Elgar
wrote his Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, in 1918, at the same time as he wrote his String Quartet in E minor
and his Piano Quintet in A minor
. These three chamber music
works were all written at "Brinkwells", the country house near Fittleworth
in West Sussex
that Lady Elgar
had acquired for her husband to recuperate and compose in, and they mark his major contribution to the chamber music genre. His Cello Concerto in E minor
of 1919 completed the quartet of introspective and melancholy works that comprised Elgar's last major creative spurt before his death in 1934.
The Violin Sonata is scored for the usual combination of violin and piano, and has three movements:
Elgar's wife noted that the slow movement seemed to be influenced by the 'wood magic' or genii loci
of the Fittleworth
woods.
When the sonata was close to completion, Elgar offered to dedicate it to a family friend, Marie Joshua, and wrote to her: "I fear it does not carry us any further but it is full of golden sounds and I like it, but you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist". Marie Joshua died four days after receiving the letter, before she had had an opportunity to reply. As a tribute to her memory, Elgar quoted the dolcissimo melody from the slow movement just before the coda of the final movement.
The Violin Sonata in E minor was completed on 15 September 1918, and first performed on 21 March 1919 at a British Music Society meeting, by Elgar's great friend W. H. Reed
, with Landon Ronald
on piano. The first public performance occurred in June 1919. Albert Sammons
and William Murdoch were the sonata's greatest champions in the early years, and they made the first recording, on 2 February 1935. (It was also Sammons who made the first complete recording of Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor
.)
The Violin Sonata has never had a reputation as one of Elgar's great works, and it features irregularly on concert programs. In recent years, however, it has been recorded a number of times, and there are now over 20 recordings in the catalogue. Those who have recorded it include Hugh Bean
, Yehudi Menuhin
, Lydia Mordkovich, Nigel Kennedy
, Midori
, Maxim Vengerov
, Tasmin Little
and Daniel Hope
.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
wrote his Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, in 1918, at the same time as he wrote his String Quartet in E minor
String Quartet (Elgar)
The String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83, was one of three major chamber music works composed by Sir Edward Elgar in 1918. The others were the Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, and the Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84. Along with the Cello Concerto in E minor, Op...
and his Piano Quintet in A minor
Piano Quintet (Elgar)
The Quintet in A minor for Piano and String Quartet, Op. 84 is a chamber work by Edward Elgar.He worked on the Quintet and two other major chamber pieces in the summer of 1918 while staying at Brinkwells near Fittleworth in Sussex. W. H...
. These three chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
works were all written at "Brinkwells", the country house near Fittleworth
Fittleworth
Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
that Lady Elgar
Caroline Alice Elgar
Caroline Alice, Lady Elgar was an English author of verse and prose fiction, who married the composer Edward Elgar.- Family :...
had acquired for her husband to recuperate and compose in, and they mark his major contribution to the chamber music genre. His Cello Concerto in E minor
Cello Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, by which time his music had gone out of fashion with the concert-going public...
of 1919 completed the quartet of introspective and melancholy works that comprised Elgar's last major creative spurt before his death in 1934.
The Violin Sonata is scored for the usual combination of violin and piano, and has three movements:
- Allegro: Risoluto
- Romance: Andante
- Allegro non troppo
Elgar's wife noted that the slow movement seemed to be influenced by the 'wood magic' or genii loci
Genius loci
In classical Roman religion a genius loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding a Cornucopia, patera and/or a snake. There are many Roman altars found in Western Europe dedicated in whole or in part to the particular Genius Loci...
of the Fittleworth
Fittleworth
Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...
woods.
When the sonata was close to completion, Elgar offered to dedicate it to a family friend, Marie Joshua, and wrote to her: "I fear it does not carry us any further but it is full of golden sounds and I like it, but you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist". Marie Joshua died four days after receiving the letter, before she had had an opportunity to reply. As a tribute to her memory, Elgar quoted the dolcissimo melody from the slow movement just before the coda of the final movement.
The Violin Sonata in E minor was completed on 15 September 1918, and first performed on 21 March 1919 at a British Music Society meeting, by Elgar's great friend W. H. Reed
William Henry Reed
William Henry "Billy" Reed was an English violinist, teacher, minor composer, conductor and biographer of Sir Edward Elgar...
, with Landon Ronald
Landon Ronald
Sir Landon Ronald was an English conductor, composer, pianist, singing teacher and administrator...
on piano. The first public performance occurred in June 1919. Albert Sammons
Albert Sammons
Albert Edward Sammons CBE was an English violinist, composer and later violin teacher. Almost self-taught on the violin, he had a wide repertoire as both chamber musician and soloist, although his reputation rests mainly on his association with British composers, especially Elgar...
and William Murdoch were the sonata's greatest champions in the early years, and they made the first recording, on 2 February 1935. (It was also Sammons who made the first complete recording of Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor
Violin Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61, is one of his longest orchestral compositions, and the last of his works to gain immediate popular success....
.)
The Violin Sonata has never had a reputation as one of Elgar's great works, and it features irregularly on concert programs. In recent years, however, it has been recorded a number of times, and there are now over 20 recordings in the catalogue. Those who have recorded it include Hugh Bean
Hugh Bean
Hugh Cecil Bean CBE was an English violinist.He was born in Beckenham. After lessons from his father from the age of five, he became a pupil of Albert Sammons when he was nine years old. Later, he attended the Royal College of Music , where at age 17 he was awarded the principal prize for violin...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Lydia Mordkovich, Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
, Midori
Midori Goto
is a Japanese American violinist. She made her debut at the age of 11 in a last-minute change of programming during a concert highlighting young performers by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. When she was 21, she formed the philanthropic group Midori and Friends to help bring music to...
, Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov is a violinist, violist, and conductor who was born in the Soviet Union.-Youth:Born on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to a family with musical tradition....
, Tasmin Little
Tasmin Little
Tasmin Little is an English violinist.She studied under Pauline Scott at the Yehudi Menuhin School and later at the Guildhall School of Music, coming to prominence as a string section finalist in the 1982 BBC Young Musician of the Year competition...
and Daniel Hope
Daniel Hope (violinist)
Daniel Hope is a British violinist. A soloist, he has also been a member of the Beaux Arts Trio since 2002.Hope was born in S. Africa but raised and educated in England. Hope studied at and received a degree from the Royal Academy of Music, and was tutored by the Russian pedagogue Zakhar...
.
External links
- Performance by Viviane HagnerViviane HagnerViviane Hagner is an internationally renowned violinist. She was born in Munich, Germany in 1977, to a German father and Korean mother.Hagner made her international debut at the age of 12, and one year later performed as soloist at the historic "Joint Concert" in Tel Aviv with the Berlin and...
(violin) and Tatiana Goncharova (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