The Sonata No. 3 in A minor "dans le caractère populaire roumain" (in Romanian Folk Style) for violin and piano, Op. 25, is a chamber music composition written in 1926 by the Romanian composer

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

. The score, published in 1933, is dedicated to the memory of the violinist Franz Kneisel. It is one of the composer's most popular and at the same time most critically respected works.

History

The Third Violin Sonata was written in a span of about four months in 1926 at a time when Enescu was also occupied with the late stages of work on the opera '' Œdipe''. The sonata was first performed in Oradea, in January 1927 by the composer and the pianist Nicolae Caravia, who repeated it shortly afterward in Bucharest. Enescu and Caravia also gave the Paris premiere in March 1927, in the

Salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for ...

. A particularly notable early performance took place in Paris in June 1930, when the composer was partnered by Alfred Cortot. Enescu's pupil

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

made a recording in 1936 with his sister

Hephzibah Menuhin Hephzibah Menuhin (20 May 19201 January 1981) was an American-Australian pianist, writer, and human rights campaigner. She was sister to the violinist Yehudi Menuhin and to the pianist, painter, and poet Yaltah Menuhin. She was also a linguist ...

on piano, and the composer himself recorded the work twice as a violinist, in 1943 with

Dinu Lipatti Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (; 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from effects related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He comp ...

and again a few years later with Céliny Chaillez-Richez. A performance took place in May 1946 with Yehudi Menuhin playing the violin part, accompanied on the piano by the composer. The sonata prompted enthusiasm immediately at the time of its premiere, and has ever since been the composition by Enescu that has received the greatest amount of attention in the musicological and critical literature, with the possible exception of his opera, ''Œdipe''. It has also become the most popular of Enescu's works after the two Romanian Rhapsodies.

Analysis

Without ever quoting actual folk tunes, the material possesses the authenticity of a sort of "super folklore". The violin is cast in the role of a gypsy fiddle, and the writing for the piano imitates the

cimbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...

and

kobza The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kob ...

. The sonata is divided into three

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

: # Moderato malinconico # Andante sostenuto e misterioso # Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso The first movement is in a loose

sonata-allegro form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...

, beginning with a suave and nostalgic first thematic group presented in continuous and supple lines in the piano and more hesitantly in the violin. When this material returns in the recapitulation it will be transformed into a kind of " horă bătrînească" (old men's dance). The second thematic group brings a contrasting atmosphere of sobriety and intensified differentiation of colour, a characteristic that will return for further development in the second movement. The

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

is confined almost entirely to material from the first thematic group, but after the recapitulation there is an extended coda that brings together motivic fragments from both groups. The transformation of the material from the lyrical, songlike style of the

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair * Expository writing ** Exposition (narrative) * Exposition (music) *Trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade e ...

and development into the persistent dance rhythms of the recapitulation bestows upon the movement the overall impression of a two-part

rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

in the traditional '' lassú–friss'' pattern. The second movement can be described as a

song form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

in three parts: a long opening section filled with introspection and poetic facets, where the violin plays almost entirely in harmonics, followed by a contrasting central section in folk style, and a return of the opening material with a concluding, gentle coda. The finale is in

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

form using a refrain whose melody is reminiscent of a bear dance from northern Moldavia. Despite the sectional form, the thematic material is subjected to continuous variation—a process made particularly clear in the C section, which is structured as a miniature theme and variations. This procedure results in an effect described as Enescu's "rhapsodic style".

Discography

*George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 25.

, violin;

, piano. Recorded 6 January 1936. A Victor Musical Masterpiece. 78 rpm recording, 3 sound discs: analog, 78 rpm, monaural, 12 in. Victor DM 318 (set: automatic sequence); Victor 16892; 16893; 16894; Victor AM 318 (set: automatic sequence). Camden, N.J.: Victor, 1940. Reissued together with other material. CD recording, 1 sound disc: digital, monaural, 4¾ in. EMI Classics 7243 5 65962 2. EMI Références series. ondon EMI Classics, 1996. *George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in A Minor, Op. 25 (); ''Pièce de concert'' for Viola and Piano. George Enescu, violin;

, piano (1st work); Alexandru Radulescu, viola; George Enescu, piano (2nd work). LP recording, 1 sound disc: analog, 33⅓ rpm, monaural, 10 in. Electrecord ECD 95. omania Electrecord, 1950s. *George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 in A minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 25 ("in the popular Roumanian style").

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

: Sonata for Violin and Piano. Rafael Druian, violin; John Simms, piano. LP recording, 1 sound disc: 33⅓ rpm, monaural, 12 in. Mercury MG 80001. .p. Mercury Records, 1956. * George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 in A minor for violin and piano, Op. 25;

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 40. Diane Andersen, violin; André Gertler, piano. LP recording, 1 disc: analogue, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 12 in. Supraphon 50483, Czechoslovakia: Supraphon, 1962. *George Enuscu: Sonata No. 3 in A Minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 26 (dans le style populaire roumaine). Christian Ferras, violin; Pierre Barbizet, piano. LP recording, 1 sound disc: analog, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 12 in. Odeon S 80749. .p. Odeon, 1960s. * ''West Meets East''.

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

: ''Prabhati'', ''Raga puriya kalyan'', ''Swara-kakali''; George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 in A minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 25. Yehudi Menuhin, violin (1st, 3rd, and 4th works); Ravi Shankar, sitar (2nd and 3rd works); Alla Rakha, tabla (1st work); Hephzibah Menuhin, piano (4th work). LP recording, 1 sound disc: analogue, stereo, 33⅓ rpm, 12 in. Angel S 36418. London: Angel, 1967. *George Enescu: Sonata No. 3 in A minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 25; Antonín Dvořák: ''Romantické kusy'', Op. 75; Robert Schumann: Intermezzo and Allegro (second and third movements of the F.A.E. Sonata); Johannes Brahms: Sonatensatz (Scherzo of the F.A.E. Sonata).

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

, violin;

Alexander Zakin Alexander Zakin (22 January 190316 October 1990) was a Russian-born pianist, best known for being the accompanist of the violinist Isaac Stern between 1940 and 1977. They appeared together in many of the world's most prestigious concert halls and ...

, piano. LP recording, 1 sound disc: analog, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 12 in. CBS Masterworks M 39114. New York: CBS Masterworks, 1983. * George Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 6; Violin Sonata "Torso"; Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 25. Adelina Oprean, violin; Justin Oprean, piano. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, stereo, 4¾ in. Hyperion CDA66484. London: Hyperion Records Ltd, 1992.

References

Cited sources

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External links