Saint-Saens: Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 75

Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 75

Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)

Allegro agitato – Adagio

Allegro moderato – Allegro molto

One of the most remarkable child prodigies in the history of music---performing Beethoven piano sonatas in public at the age of 5, and composing symphonies in his early teens, Camille Saint-Saens has the ironic fate of being best-known for a composition written for the amusement of friends and never published in his lifetime: the “Carnival of the Animals”! But recently there has been a resurgence of interest in Saint-Saens, and his many concertos, chamber works and orchestral compositions are regaining their position in the concert repertory.

Written in 1885, the D Minor Violin Sonata is one of the supreme tests for a violinist, combining powerful emotional expression with technical requirements which push an artist to the breaking point. The sonata is laid out in two section, each with two movements linked by a transition. The opening Allegro agitato moves restlessly between moods of melancholy and nostalgia, giving way to songlike lyrical tenderness in the Adagio which follows. A sharp change of character is heard in the graceful, skipping rhythms of the Allegro moderato which introduces a breezy zestfulness after the introspection of the opening section of the sonata. A hymn-like passage with rich chords in the piano leads to the finale, which goes off like a rocket, the violin hurtling forward in a “perpetual motion,” leading the piano on a merry chase. Themes are recalled from earlier in the work, with a moment of quiet forming contrast along the way. But the furious headlong momentum returns, concluding the sonata in a truly awesome display of roller-coaster fireworks, the violin and piano flying onward in a “triple” unison to bring the work to a sensational conclusion.

For a concert by Darwyn Apple

Szymanowski : Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23

Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23

Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)

Karol Szymanowski, the most important Polish composer to appear in the century following the death of Chopin, wrote a wide range of symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs and operas, including two of the finest violin concertos of the 20^th century. There are a number of smaller compositions for violin and piano, mostly lyrical pieces such as this Romance, which dates from 1910. Characteristic of Szymanowski’s music written before World War I, it is a dreamy, expansive flow of effortless melody, the violin floating and soaring over richly-textured harmonies, twice building to a passionate climax, then drifting away to close in rapt stillness.

For a concert by Darwyn Apple

Ravel : Tzigane (Rapsodie de Concert)

Tzigane (Rapsodie de Concert)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Maurice Ravel, himself a pianist, composed a number of works for violin and piano, as well as chamber music spotlighting the violin. But only once did he write for violin and orchestra, in this “concert rhapsody,” dating from 1924, and first performed in London by the Hungarian violinist, Yelly d’Aranyi, (who happened to be the grand-niece of Brahms’ violinist colleague, Josef Joachim.) Another version for violin and piano was prepared by the composer at the same time. The title, ”Tzigane” (“Gypsy”), is characteristic of Ravel, who was fascinated by exotic places and cultures, writing compositions based on Hebrew, Greek, African and Asian themes, and even a movement in his 1927 Violin Sonata entitled “Blues.” Of course, no “exotic” culture is more associated with the violin than that of the Gypsies. Although Ravel had frequently heard Gypsy violinists, all of the musical material in “Tzigane,” while influenced by authentic Gypsy music, is original.

The violin dominates the composition, as in the opening, where the violin is heard without accompaniment in an extended cadenza of dizzying technical virtuosity. The basic musical elements are laid out, by turns playful, songful, passionate and dramatic. Eventually the piano enters with a billowing background, leading in the primary theme, which is highly dancelike in character. The soloist is increasingly urged to employ every imaginable “trick” of the violinist’s trade, with trills, pizzicato (plucked) effects, flute-like harmonics, soon moving into a stomping, rhythmically charged section of ever greater energy and brilliance. The music plunges ever onward to end with dazzling, unbridled bravado.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple

Mendelssohn : Violin Concerto in E Minor

Violin Concerto in E Minor

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Finale: Allegro molto vivace

Felix Mendelssohn, in his day known world-wide as perhaps the most celebrated composer of them all, composed this work not long before his early death, creating perhaps the best-loved of all violin concertos. A test of any professional performer, the concerto is typical of Mendelssohn’s style, with a wonderful balance between brilliant display, rhythmic energy and melting melodic lyricism. The Finale is particularly a challenge for the violinist, who from the first note tears off on a musical steeplechase which never flags, racing on to an exciting finish.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple

Still :Suite for Violin and Piano

Suite for Violin and Piano (1943)

William Grant Still (1895-1978)

Mother and Child

Gamin

It is well known that even in the earliest days of colonial America slaves transported to these shores from Africa exhibited a remarkable richness of musical activity. At the time most white people paid little attention of the unique African music-making which survived under slavery, much of which would manage to survive well into modern times. But in the plantation world music of a different kind was often supplied by slaves who quickly adapted to the instruments and tunes of their masters, providing entertainment in an environment which seems scarcely believable today. (It it ironic to note that public advertisements in the 18^th century frequently referred to musical talent among African slaves as a “selling point” in the ghastly commerce of slavery!)

The emergence in the late 19^th century of genuine Black American music---first of all, the Spirituals, and later popular forms which develop into Ragtime, the Blues, Jazz---is now fairly widely recognized. Yet to this day the growth of distinct and finely-crafted Black concert music often remains cloaked in obscurity, and demands proper recognition.

William Grant Still, in his lifetime often called the “Dean of Black American Composers,” was one of the primary figures in the emergence of first-rate professional Black classical musicians in the first half of the 20^th century. A Californian by birth, Still studied in Ohio, worked for a while in Memphis with W. C. Handy (composer of the “Saint Louis Blues”), later with Eubie Blake in New York (notably in the pioneering Black Broadway musical, “Shuffle Along” in 1921), going on to serious study with several of the most eminent classical composers of the ‘20s and ‘30s. Still sprang to wide notice with his Afro-American Symphony (1930), which was widely performed by some of the most important American orchestras, and conductors such as Leopold Stokowski and Howard Hanson.

The Suite for Violin and Piano, comprising three movements, shows Still’s lifetime fascination with the graphic arts, each section being linked to the work of Black American artists. “Mother and Child,” an outpouring of deeply felt lyricism was inspired by a lithograph of that title by Sargent Johnson (1887-1967), a noted sculptor based in California. In sharp contrast, “Gamin” (“Street urchin”) is filled with quirky humor, with bluesy acrobatics in the violin heard against a strutting “boogie-woogie” piano accompaniment. This was inspired by one of the best-known works by the Black American sculptor, Augusta Savage, a warm-hearted representation of a Black youngster, wearing—even sixty years ago!---his cap with the brim turned around.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple

Bach : Sonata No. 1 in G Minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1001

Sonata No. 1 in G Minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1001

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Adagio - Fugue

Though best-known as the greatest keyboard player of his day, Johann Sebastian Bach’s first instrument was the violin, for which he composed a remarkable range of concertos, sonatas and chamber music. While his career centered upon activities as an organist and church musician, in his early thirties Bach held a position as director of music at a small princely court which focused entirely upon the production of instrumental music. It was then that most of his violin music was written, most famously the set of six Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, perhaps the most challenging music ever composed for the instrument, and a sort of “bible” for all aspiring violinists. Today Mr. Apple performs the first two (of four) movements from the First Sonata. The Adagio establishes a mood of dignified calm and majesty, with sweeping chords interspersed with flowing melodic lines, creating music of surprisingly full sonority from what might be thought to be the limited resources of a single, lone string instrument. The fugue, in which the opening figure (catching the listener’s attention with four repeated notes) is heard by itself, then several times in succession, each time enriched by other melodic lines interwoven to form a fascinating musical tapestry. While fugues are sometimes thought of as rather “intellectual” in character, Bach’s amazing range of colors and harmonies invests the music with great expressive power, irresistible momentum and drama.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple

Brahms Scherzo in C Minor for Violin and Piano (“Sonatensatz”)

Scherzo in C Minor for Violin and Piano (“Sonatensatz”)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

As a young man Johannes Brahms met the celebrated Hungarian violinist, Josef Joachim, who would become a lifelong friend, and inspiration for all of his violin compositions. The German subtitle “Sonatensatz” refers to the curious fact that this scherzo movement was originally part of a composite violin sonata written for Joachim, with three different composers contributing movements to form a complete work. The scherzo was composed in 1853 when Brahms was barely 20 years old, but was only published in 1906, soon finding a place in the concert repertory.

From the very beginning the music leaps into action, seizing the listener’s attention with pounding rhythms, sweeping lyrical phrases and an air of dramatic expectancy. The music becomes more subdued for a gentler contrasting episode at midpoint, returning to the rhythmic energy of the opening, rounding out the work with a majestic conclusion.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple