Violin and Piano Sonata No.2

This
remarkable composition was written for Anne-Sophie Mutter and
premiered by her in London in April 2000, making it a companion work
to the Sextet that we hear later in the Festival. Naturally it
demands playing of the highest order as the combination of technical
virtuosity and expressive ability is the key to this superb work

The
five movements form a great arch from the opening Larghetto
to
the closing Andante,
with
the two faster movements enclosing the central Notturno
that is the core of the work; the only pauses are either side of the
Notturno.
The musical language reminds us of the Sextet with its flavour of
late-Romanticism and hints of Bartók and Shostakovich, but above all
we find again extreme instrumental virtuosity working alongside a
passionate intensity.

The
first movement opens with the solo pizzicato violin looking for the
way into the sonata, several brief arco
experiments
get nowhere until a dramatic flurry of notes ushers in the piano’s
entry. A sudden climax and then it is the piano’s turn to explore
those opening notes before the violin settles into a new, heartfelt
melody, which the music circles around hesitantly. With a new burst
of energy, we suddenly find ourselves in the scherzo, which is brief
and spectacular, like a Catherine wheel firing off brilliant effects
in all directions.

The
Notturno
shows
its colours in the opening bars, with a richly decorated romantic
theme that is drawn out into a deeply passionate affair, swooping
from sudden impetuous displays of wildness to lingering, languorous
moments, imploring love. We recall the poetess’ words: Let
me bestow upon the world something more imperishable than love. The
night song ends abruptly and indecisively, but there is nothing
inconclusive about the merciless virtuosity of the fourth movement
that burns with a seemingly indestructible flame, flaring from one
impossible demonstration of the musicians’ art to the next.
Eventually the way to the final Andante is cleared and the piano
announces the final postlude. Once more we hear the Notturno’s
theme
of love
and
the yearning violin can cry out once more.