Sonatas for Piano and ViolinSonata No. 1, Opus 11Sonata No. 2, Opus 28
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There are notable similarities between these two pieces, even though the better part of two decades separate their inspiration. For example, both works are designated for piano and violin -- not, as is more common, violin and piano. This designation was intended to convey that the works are for two equal instruments, rather than a violin work with piano accompaniment. However, there are also differences between the two. These differences highlight Roussel's evolution as a composer; the first sonata was written while Roussel was still a student at Vincent d'Indy's Schola Cantorum. The effect of this can be seen in the music itself: D'Indy's dogmatic instruction is reflected in the long-windedness of Roussel's cyclical, three-movement Sonata number 1. However, opus 28 in A, comprising a ternary Andante framed by an expansive sonata-form movement and Presto finale, displays Roussel's mature chamber style at its best. [Robin Stowall]
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Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Opus 11for piano and violin| Written: 1907-08 (Rev 1931) | Premiered: Paris, Oct. 9, 1908 A. Parent, M. Drom |
| Length: 32 minutes | Three movements: Lent-Tres anime-Lent Assez anime-Tres lent Tres anime-Tres modere |
| Publisher: Rouart, Lerolle & Co |
Dedication: Vincent d'Indy |
About this Work:|
Following the fresh and innovative Divertissement, the First Sonata seems a throwback to Roussel's earlier didactic training. Long melodic lines in an intense, gloomy style reminiscent of Cesar Franck dominate this work. Compared to the second sonata, rhythm is subordinate to melody — and Roussel's genius is much more rhythmic than melodic.
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How does it sound?| The main theme of the third movement is a jaunty melody reminiscent of the Divertissement. Although the material's development is rather heavy, the theme itself (69K WAV file) is lively and fairly typical of the composer. |
Other opinions:|
The First Sonata remains a major work of its time and place. [Roger Ditmer]
The Sonata, like the Trio [opus 2], is too long, its development to incoherent and its inevitable apotheosis contrived and over-emphatic. Nevertheless, it represents in some respects a notable advance on the earlier work. The basic ideas are of a much higher order, even if they are too unscrupulously exploited. [Basil Deane] Despite its somewhat scholastic structure, this sonata is live, significant music, in which genuine individuality is expressed, though not with perfect freedom. [M.D. Calvocoressi] In summary, one sees in this sonata a real discrepancy between the ideas, personal and interesting, and their working-out, which obeys criteria that do not correspond to the personality of the author. Roussel never made this same mistake again. [Harry Halbreich]
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Sonata No. 2 in A major, Opus 28for piano and violin| Written: 1924 | Premiered: Paris, Oct. 25, 1925 Asselin, L. Caffaret |
| Length: 14 minutes | Three movements: Allegro con molto Andante Presto |
| Publisher: Durand | Dedication: J. Guy Ropartz |
About this Work:|
This work belongs to Roussel's second, transitional period. In
its rhythmic vigor, particularly in the first and third movements
and even parts of the slow second movement, however, it presages
much of his third and final mature period.
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| This work is less than half as long as the first sonata; the first movement of the first sonata is by itself nearly as long as the entire second sonata. This follows a general trend, as Roussel moved toward a more concise style. The same trend can be seen in his four symphonies, the last two of which are shorter than his first two, and in his chamber music in general, which became progressively shorter over the course of his career. |
Other opinions:|
Roussel's second sonata, op. 28, is a very temperamental work, modern in tendency, and more attractive in every way than the first. The form in this sonata is strikingly beautiful. The trio, though an early work, is considered by some to be one of his finest compositions. [M. Drake-Brockman] The composer experiments boldly, but his sense of structure and texture remains clear and firm, and there is no trace of the tentative or purely experimental in the results achieved. [M.D. Calvocoressi] Roussel may have been dissatisfied with his achievement [in the first sonata]. When he returned to the field of concerted chamber music... his first major work was another Violin Sonata. This second Violin Sonata is a landmark in his evolution. It shows the composer making his most serious attempt to date to reconcile the disparate elements in his style: self-contained musical ideas with sonata form, extended lyrical melody with rhythmic ostinati, tonal emphasis with modal freedom.... This Sonata is in every respect an improvement upon the earlier one. [Basil Deane] ...There is no level-headed calm (in the first movement), but instead a sudden outburst of piano arpeggios which lead us straight in media res—a determined main theme which soon becomes even faster before making way for a songful second theme. [Per Skans]
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