The Violin Sonata No. 3 in
E minor,
Op. 57, given the name ''Epica'', is a four-movement work for violin and piano, written by
Nikolai Medtner
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Ме́тнер, ''Nikoláj Kárlovič Métner''; 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immedi ...
from 1935 to 1938. The piece was dedicated to his late brother Emil Medtner.
History
When in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1935, Medtner started work on writing a violin sonata, but failed to make significant progress. It was only over two years later, after having completed his ''Sonata-Idyll'', that he returned to work on it: throughout 1938 he worked on the piece, completing it in October of that year.
Structure
The sonata is written in four movements, beginning and ending in the key of E minor. It employs
cyclic form. The entire work takes approximately 45 minutes to perform.
# Introduzione: ''Andante meditamente'' – ''Allegro'' (E minor). The movement begins with a slow 6/8 introduction which leads into a long
sonata form in 6/4 time.
# Scherzo: ''Allegro molto vivace e leggiero'' (
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
:
Changes ...
). The movement, in common time, opens with a vigorous main theme, which prominently features rhythmic dance-like features. This is followed by a graceful and melodic second theme, which greatly contrasts the first, before, after a short transition section, both themes are repeated, and the movement ends in an energetic coda.
# ''Andante con moto'' (
F minor). The work's slow movement, in 3/4 time, opens with a series of longing chords in the piano, which give way to a melodic section in the
Aeolian mode. This is followed by a second theme, in
B major
B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...
, before the two themes come together in the movement's lyrical finish.
# Finale: ''Allegro molto'' (E minor). The sonata's last movement, fast in tempo and in 3/4 time, continues on from the end of the third movement without a pause. It begins with an assertive first theme in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
, which is contrasted by a more melodic second theme in
D major. At the end of the exposition of the two main themes, there appears, for a short moment, a fragment of the church chant ''Christ is risen'', which undergoes 11 variations in place of a conventional sonata development, before the movement ends with a recapitulation of the first theme and a coda.
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
*
Hyperion Records: Violin Sonata No 3 in E minor 'Sonata Epica', Op 57
Medtner
1938 compositions
Compositions by Nikolai Medtner
Compositions in E minor
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