Download LANA TROTOVŠEK SIMON LANE

64. dubrovačke ljetne igre
64 dubrovnik summer festival
2013
hrvatska croatia
th
LANA TROTOVŠEK
violina · violin
SIMON LANE
glasovir · piano
atrij kneževa dvora
rector's palace atrium
18. kolovoza · 18th august
21.30 · 9.30 pm
JOHANNES BRAHMS
3. sonata za violinu i klavir u d-molu, op. 108
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Un poco presto e con sentimento
4. Presto agitato
ARVO PÄRT
Fratres za violinu i klavir
Fratres for Violin and Piano
***
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Sonata za violinu i klavir u g-molu, L 140
Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, L 140
1. Allegro vivo
2. Intermède: Fantasque et léger
3. Finale: Très animé
IGOR ALEXANDROVICH FROLOV
Koncertna fantazija za violinu i klavir prema operi
Georgea Gershwina Porgy and Bess, op. 19
Fantasy Concertante for Violin and Piano after
George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess
izvanredno dobro primljeni i u Austriji
(Konzerthaus u Beču), Italiji (Teatro la
Fenice u Veneciji), Nizozemskoj
(Concertgebouw u Amsterdamu,
Muziekgebouw Frits Phillips u
Eindhovenu), te u Njemačkoj,
Španjolskoj, Portugalu, Francuskoj,
Finskoj, Švedskoj, Sloveniji, Hrvatskoj,
Srbiji, Kini i SAD-u. Koncerte Lane
Trotovšek prenosili su BBC Radio 3,
Slovenska radiotelevizija i Arte TV
France. Ove će godine diskografska
kuća Meridian Records izdati Laninu
snimku skladbi za violinu i glasovir na
kojoj surađuje s Yoko Misumi, kao i
snimke glasovirskih trija s
violončelistom Stjepanom Hauserom i
pijanisticom Yoko Misumi. S kvartetom
Badke snimala je za diskografske kuće
Signum i Champs Hill.
Violinistica Lana Trotovšek, laureat
međunarodnih natjecanja i nositeljica
brojnih nagrada, učenica je Ruggiera
Riccija. U rujnu 2012. godine debitirala
je s Prokofjevim Violinskim koncertom
br. 1 uz Valerija Gergijeva i orkestar
kazališta Mariinsky. Njezina je
senzacionalna izvedba popraćena
ovacijama publike i izvanrednim
ocjenama glazbenih kritičara. Nastupala
je na solističkim koncertima diljem
Velike Britanije u dvoranama Wigmore
Hall, Kings Place, St John’s Smith
Square, itd. Njezini su koncerti
Lana Trotovšek studirala je u klasi
Vaska Vassileva i Rivke Golani na
Trinity College of Music, te u
klasi Itzhaka Rashkovskog na Royal
College of Music u Londonu. Dobitnica
je, uz brojna druga nagrada i priznanja,
Prešernove nagrade Ljubljanskog
sveučilišta. Svira na violini Pietro
Antonio dalla Costa iz 1750. godine,
posudbi privatnog dobročinitelja.
Simon Lane vodi raznolik glazbeni
život nastupajući uz instrumentaliste i
pjevače diljem Velike Britanije, te u
Irskoj, Francuskoj, Italiji, Njemačkoj,
Austriji Norveškoj, Danskoj i Sjevernoj
Americi. Studirao je na Royal Northern
College of Music u Manchesteru u klasi
Marka Raya i Dine Parakine, te
diplomirao s najvišom ocjenom na
Royal Academy of Music u Londonu
gdje su mu profesori bili Michael
izvodio je i koncerte Schumanna,
Beethovena i Griega, te Beethovenov
Trostruki koncert.
Godine 2009. osvaja Nagradu za
glasovirsku pratnju na glazbenom
natjecanju Royal Overseas League, a
među ostalim nagradama koje je dobio
ističu se stipendija sir Henry Richardsona
koju dodjeljuje MBF, nagrada Kontese
od Munstera, te nagrade za izvedbu
lieda Elena Gerhardt i nagrade Brenda
Webb koje dodjeljuje Royal Academy
of Music.
Simon Lane je rezidentni umjetnik i
tutor na medunarodnom glazbenom
festivalu u Aberystwythu.
Dussek i Julius Drake. Kao dječak bio je
član zbora katedrale u Canterburyju.
Nastupao je u glazbenim dvoranama
Wigmore Hall, St George’s, Bristol,
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room i
Bridgewater Hall, te surađivao s
umjetnicima kao što su Allan Clayton,
Iestyn Davies, Peter Harvey, Sophie
Daneman, s gudačkim kvartetima
Navarra, Badke, Brodowski i Barbirolli,
te s gudačkim ansamblom Bozza. Jedan
je od osnivača glasovirskog kvarteta
Atalanta, uz Ceciliju Bernadini, Toma
Hankeyja i Nathaniela Boyda. Nastupao
je na festivalima Bachfest Leipzig, Lago
Maggiore, La Festival de Musique de
Menton, King’s Lynn, Newsbury, Brighton,
Leeds Lieder, Ryedale, Lichfield i Deal te
na ljetnim glazbenim festivalima Lake
Districta. Uz aktivno bavljenje
komornom glazbom Simon Lane
Njemački skladatelj Johannes Brahms
(1833. – 1897.) je prema svojim
violinskim sonatama bio, kao i
uostalom prema velikoj većini drugih
svojih djela, nastrojen vrlo samokritički.
Prvu violinsku sonatu je napisao kao
dvadesetogodišnjak, no izvodio ju je
samo u privatnim krugovima s
prijateljima, dok se pretpostavlja da je
kasnije napisao još barem četiri slične
sonate koje su, poput spomenute prve,
bile uništene. Tek su između 1878. i
1888. nastale tri numerirane violinske
sonate: prva je Sonata u G-duru, op. 78,
druga, nastala sedam godina nakon
prve, je Sonata u A-duru, op. 100, dok je
treća Sonata u d-molu, op. 108 bila
dovršena 1888. godine. Sve violinske
sonate nastale su za Josepha Joachima
(1831. – 1907.), mađarskog violinista,
skladatelja i učitelja, kojeg je Brahms
upoznao na turneji u Hanoveru 1853.,
kada su obojica bila u ranim
dvadesetima. U to vrijeme Brahms je
još uvijek bio nepoznat, dok je Joachim
već bio zvijezda u usponu. Provodili su
mnogo vremena zajedno i postali su
bliski suradnici i prijatelji. Upravo je
Joachim Brahmsa upoznao s Robertom
i Clarom Schumann, bračnim parom
koji je odigrao važnu ulogu kako u
promicanju Brahmsovog glazbenog
stvaralaštva, tako i u Brahmsovom
privatnom životu.
Do godina 1886., 1887. i 1888., kad je
ljeta provodio u švicarskom Hofstettenu
blizu jezera Thun, Brahms se
približavao povlačenju iz svijeta
skladanja, gdje je već uspješno učvrstio
svoju međunarodnu reputaciju kroz
svoja velika djela, koja uključuju četiri
simfonije. Unatoč planovima o
povlačenju, u ovom idiličnom
okruženju nastao je veliki broj lieda,
komornih djela te, među ostalima,
spomenuta Treća sonata za violinu i
klavir u d-molu.
Ova sonata se razlikuje od prethodne
dvije Brahmsove violinske sonate
zahvaljujući svojoj ekstrovertiranoj i
virtuoznoj naravi. Gotovo kao da je
Brahms namjeravao da se djelo izvodi u
većim prostorima poput koncertne
dvorane umjesto salonskih soba.
Pogotovo završni stavak sadrži opsežne
djelove, koje se može okarakterizirati
kao simfonijske, te se zbog toga nameće
pretpostavka kako ova sonata treba
dovoljno veliki prostor da bi njezin
zvuk mogao rezonirati. Sonata,
sukladno svom molovskom tonalitetu
za razliku od prve i druge violinske
sonate ima puno uznemireniji karakter
koji se izrazito mijenja od stavka do
stavka. Nakon lirsko-dramatičnog
prvog stavka, glazba se direktno
nastavlja u Adagio koji se potom slijeva
u sentimentalan, no razigran i ponekad
rapsodičan treći stavak te završava
žestokim kratkim nizovima, notama u
mahnitom tempu tarantelle.
Skladatelj Arvo Pärt (r. 1935.) već je s
trideset i pet godina zauzimao
istaknuto mjesto među skladateljima
istočno-europskog podrijetla koji se
povezuju s glazbenim stilom zvanim
nova jednostavost, stilom koji je odbacio
bezosjećajnu, matematički stvorenu
glazbu i grubi, netonalan avangardni
zvuk te ponovno uveo tonalni jezik,
jasnoću te u većini slučajeva svojevrsni
neoromantičarski zvuk.
Pärt je odrastao u Estoniji, koja je
tijekom drugog svjetskog rata bila
zbijena između Sovjeta i Nacista, a
potom postojala kao Sovjetska
socijalistička republika do 1991. Ranih
1960-ih Pärt je započeo umetati serijske
principe u svoja djela, što je dovelo do
očekivanog prijekora od strane
sovjetskih nadležnih tijela za kulturu, i
automatski značilo da se ta djela neće
izvoditi. Do sredine šezdesetih, Pärt je
bio uronjen u izučavanja Bacha te je
uskoro počeo skladati djela u kojima se
modernistička disonanca pojavila u
jasnom kontrastu prema jasno
definiranoj neobaroknoj tonalnosti.
Ovo je dosegnulo svoj vrhunac u
skladbi Credo (1968.), koja je šokirala
sovjetske dužnosnike ne svojim
glazbenim inovacijama već naslovom,
koji je zazivao službeno zabranjeno
kršćanstvo.
Credo je označio prekretnicu, vodeći
Pärta u istraživanje veće jednostavnosti.
Počeo je istraživati srednjovjekovne i
renesanse napjeve i polifonu glazbu (sam
naslov skladbe Fratres, što znači „braća“
mogao bi imati redovničke konotacije) i
fokusirao se na mističku energiju koja
izranja iz istovremenog zvuka nota. Do
1976. pronašao je esenciju stila kojim se
koristio sve od tada te koja je korištena i
u skladbi Fratres: tonalnu tehniku koju je
nazvao tintinnabuli (zbog reznonacija
koja su podsjećala na zvona). Pärt je
objasnio tintinnabulacijsku metodu
sljedećim riječima: „Tintinnabulacija je
područje u koje ponekad zađem dok
tražim odgovore - u svom životu, mojoj
glazbi, mom radu. U mojim mračnim
trenucima čini mi se kao da sve van ove
jedne stvari nema smisla. Kompleksno i
višestrano me samo zbunjuje, i moram
tragati za jedinstvom. Što je to, ta jedna
stvar, i kako ću pronaći put do nje?
Tragovi ove savršene stvari pojavljuju se u
mnogim oblicima - i sve nebitno pada na
stranu. Tintinnabulacija je poput toga.
Ovdje sam sam s tišinom. Otkrio sam da
je dovoljno ako je jedna nota prekrasno
odsvirana. Ova jedna nota, ili tihi takt,
trenutak tišine, me smiruje. Radim s malo
elemenata - s jednim glasom, s dva glasa.
Gradim koristeći najprimitivnije
materijale - trijadu, s jednim određenim
tonalitetom. Tri note trijade su poput
zvona. Zbog toga to nazivam
tintinnabulacijom.“
Fratres je bila prvotno, 1977. godine,
skladana za gudački kvartet i puhački
kvintet, no do 1992. skladatelj je
napisao mnoge prerade ovog djela za
različite glazbene sastave, među kojima
se najčešće izvode preradba za violinu,
gudački orkestar i udaraljke te preradba
za violinu i klavir. Potonju je skladatelj
napisao 1980. godine i posvetio ju
latvijskom violinistu Gidonu Kremeru
(r. 1947.).
Hvaljen od strane Ravela i odbačen od
strane Saint-Saënsa, Claude Debussy
(1862. – 1918.) bio je patriotski
Francuz, koji je naporno radio kako bi
zaštitio i sačuvao francusku kulturu.
Njegova opera, Pelléas et Mélisande,
nastala 1902., bila je prekretnica u
francuskoj glazbi te je snažno utjecala
kako na njegove suvremenike tako i na
mlađe skladatelje. Smatran prvim i
najvažnijim impresionističkim
skladateljem, Debussy je svoj stil razvio
preko utjecaja glazbe s Dalekog istoka u
zvuk pun inovativnih harmonija i boja
tonova karakteriziranih skromnošću i
emocionalnom toplinom.
Upravo Sonata za violinu i klavir u
g-molu predstavlja fantastičan balans
slatkoće, vatre, humora i nostalgije, pa
čak i melankolije. Napisana na samom
kraju skladateljeva života, ona je jedan
od najljepših primjera Debussyeve
skladateljske i umjetničke vještine. U
vrijeme njezina nastajanja, Debussy je
već bio obolio od smrtonosnog raka.
Nastavio je skladati bez obzira na sve
lošije zdravlje, dijelom zbog financijskih
razloga. Godine 1915. započeo je
projekt pisanja šest sonata za različite
kombinacije instrumenata; Sonata za
violinu i klavir, nastala 1917., bila je
treća u nizu te zadnje djelo koje je
završio prije smrti. Sam Debussy je ovo
djelo prokomentirao koristeći
autoironiju koja je označila njegove
bolne zadnje godine: „Ova sonata će biti
zanimljiva s dokumentarističkog gledišta
kao primjer toga što bolestan čovjek
može stvoriti u vrijeme rata.“
Izazov za duo violina-klavir je suradnja
osjetila i duha. Za razliku od drugih
sonata iz ranijih razdoblja ili drugih
sonata iz Debussyeva vremena, dva
instrumenta ne prate jedan drugoga bez
jasnog suodnosa; jedan instrument vodi
i povlači uz kontra melodiju ili motiv
drugoga. Na koncu ovo stvara drugačiju
vrstu sonornosti i teksture; dva
instrumenta izazivaju jedan drugoga, ali
njihove prepirke ih na kraju samo još
više zbližavaju.
Bolni akordi otvaranja prvog stavka
Allegro vivo, koje svira klavir, slušatelja
odmah transportiraju u potištenu
atmosferu, obloženu nostalgijom i
tugom. Stavak je ispunjen ritmijskom i
harmonijskom neodređenošću uz
neprestani tijek, bez obzira na brzinu.
Kao kontrast, srednji stavak, Fantasque
et léger, kako je i naznačeno nazivom, je
većinom fantastičan, hirovit, no
ponegdje melodijozan, gotovo
senzualan. Debussy je završio zadnji
stavak Très animé, u listopadu 1916.,
četiri mjeseca prije nego li je završio dva
prethodna stavka. Većina stavka je
demonstracija pokretljivosti i bljeska.
Zanimljivo je napomenuti kako
Debussy u ovoj sonati koristi izuzetno
širok raspon tonova na violini, polazeći
od malog g (najnižeg mogućeg tona na
instrumentu) do visokog cis (tri oktave i
pola tona iznad c1).
Sin učitelja violine i dirigenta, Igor
Alexandrovich Frolov (r. 1937.),
odrastao je u okruženju bogatom
glazbom. U dobi od pet godina počeo je
učiti violinu, 1955. upisao slavni
Moskovski konzervatorij te nedugo
nakon toga postao jedan od vodećih
ruskih violinista svoje generacije.
Frolov nikada nije formalno učio
skladanje, već je počeo skladati po
savjetu violinskog virtuoza Davida
Oistrakha (1908. – 1974.), koji je
predložio novu kadencu za Mozartov
Koncert za violinu i orkestar br. 5. Frolov
je smislio tri različite kadence, no to je
bio prvi i zadnji pokušaj skladanja do
1989. kad se pojavila njegova prva
skladba. Iako je odrastao uz tradiciju
klasične glazbe, Frolov je volio jazz od
malih nogu. Kada je bio student na
Moskovskom konzervatoriju, jazz je bio
zabranjen i bilo je praktički nemoguće
pronaći snimke s takvom vrstom glazbe.
Da bi tome doskočio, Frolov je išao na
projekcije stranih filmova i, kada bi se
vratio doma, pokušavao je rekreirati
harmonije i improvizacije svojih
najdražih melodija. Zanimanje za ovaj
stil ga je pratilo tijekom života, pa se
stoga elementi jazza mogu naći u
mnogim njegovim skladbama, među
kojima je jedna od poznatijih i
popularnijih virtuozna Koncertna
fantazija za violinu i klavir nastala
prema odlomcima iz opere Porgy and
Bess (1935.) američkog skladatelja
Georgea Gershwina (1898. – 1937.).
Djelo predstavlja izvanredan primjer
obrade pjesama iz spomenute jazz opere
na način koji se prije svega prilagođava
virtuoznim mogućnostima koje pruža
instrument poput violine.
Jelena Grazio
also admirably received in Austria
(Konzerthaus in Vienna), Italy - (Teatro
la Fenice in Venice), the Netherlands
(Concertgebouw in Amsterdam,
Muziekgebouw Frits Phillips in
Eindhoven) and elsewhere in Germany,
Spain, Portugal, France, Finland,
Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia,
China and the USA. Her performances
have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3,
Radio and Television Slovenija and Arte
TV France. Lana Trotovšek’s recording
of recital pieces for violin and piano
with pianist Yoko Misumi will be
released this year by Meridian Records
as well as the Mendelssohn and
Beethoven piano trios together with
cellist Stjepan Hauser and pianist Yoko
Misumi. She has also recorded for
Signum and Champs Hill Records with
the Badke quartet.
The winner of international competitions
and prizes, violinist Lana Trotovšek
was a pupil of Ruggiero Ricci. She
made her debut with Valery Gergiev
and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,
performing Prokofiev Violin Concerto
No. 1 in September 2012.
Her sensational performance was
received with standing ovations and
remarkable reviews. Lana Trotovšek has
given recitals across the United
Kingdom, where she performed in
Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, St John’s
Smith Square etc. Her concerts were
She studied with Vasko Vassilev and
Rivka Golani at Trinity College of
Music and at the Royal College of Music
in London with Itzhak Rashkovsky. She
is the winner of numerous awards
including the Prešeren Award of the
University of Ljubljana. She plays on
Pietro Antonio dalla Costa violin made
in 1750 on a loan from a private
benefactor.
Simon Lane leads a diverse musical life
performing both with instrumentalists
and singers, and his performing has
taken him across the UK as well as
Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria,
Norway, Denmark and North America.
He studied at the Royal Northern
College of Music, Manchester, with
Mark Ray and Dina Parakhina, and
subsequently graduated with distinction
appearances include the Bachfest
Leipzig, Lago Maggiore, Le Festival de
Musique de Menton, King’s Lynn,
Newbury, Brighton, Leeds Lieder, Ryedale,
Lichfield, Deal and Lake District Summer
Music Festivals. As well as being in great
demand as a chamber musician, he has
performed concerti by Schumann,
Beethoven and Grieg, in addition to
Beethoven’s ‘Triple’ Concerto.
from the Royal Academy of Music in
London, where his teachers were
Michael Dussek and Julius Drake. In his
early life he was a chorister at
Canterbury Cathedral. Simon has
performed at venues such as Wigmore
Hall, St. George’s, Bristol, Queen
Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, and the
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and has
collaborated with artists including Allan
Clayton, Iestyn Davies, Peter Harvey,
Sophie Daneman, Guy Johnston, Jack
Liebeck, Nathaniel Boyd, Philip
Higham, Gemma Rosefield, Katie
Stillman, the Navarra, Badke,
Brodowski and Barbirolli String
Quartets, and the Bozza Wind
Ensemble. He is also a founder member
of the Atalanta Piano Quartet alongside
Cecilia Bernadini, Tom Hankey and
Nathaniel Boyd. His festival
In 2009 he was the recipient of the
Accompanists’ Prize in the Royal
Overseas League Music Competition,
and has received many other awards
including the Sir Henry Richardson
Scholarship administered by the MBF, a
Countess of Munster Education Award,
and both the Elena Gerhardt Lieder
Prize and the Brenda Webb Award at the
Royal Academy of Music. Future plans
include recitals with Lana Trotovšek,
Rakhi Singh, Die schöne Müllerin with
Jonathan Sells, and the fourth year of
Simon Lane and Friends, a series of
concerts in Bromley, Kent. Simon Lane
is a resident artist and tutor at
Aberystwyth International Musicfest.
When it came to his sonatas, or any
kind of his work, German composer
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) was
highly self-critical. He composed his
first sonata at the age of twenty, but he
played it only in a very intimate circle of
friends. It is assumed that he later
composed at least four similar sonatas,
but he destroyed them all, just like the
first one. It was not until 1878/88 that
his three numbered sonatas for the
violin were composed: the first one
being Sonata in G Major, Op. 78, the
second one, composed seven years later
Sonata in A Major, Op. 100, whereas the
third one, Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op.
108 was completed in 1888. All the
violin sonatas were written for Joseph
Joachim (1831-1907), a Hungarian
violinist, composer and music teacher,
whom Brahms met while on a tour in
Hannover in 1853, when they were both
in their early twenties. At the time
Brahms was still a relatively unknown
artist, whereas Joachim had already
become a rising star. They spent a lot of
time together and they became close
associates and friends. It was precisely
Joachim that introduced Brahms to
Robert and Clara Schumann, the couple
who had a very important role both in
promoting Brahms’ music, and in
Brahms’ private life.
By 1886/1887/1888, when Brahms
spent his summers in Hoftetten,
Switzerland, near the Lake Thun,
Brahms had already started retreating
from the world of composing, as he had
already established a solid international
reputation, thanks to his great pieces,
including four symphonies. Despite his
plans to stop composing, this idyllic
setting gave birth to numerous Lieds,
chamber music pieces and the already
mentioned Sonata No. 3 dor the Violin
and Piano in D Minor.
This sonata differs from the previous
two in that it is extrovert and virtuoso
by nature. It seems almost as if Brahms
had intended for the sonata to be
performed in larger spaces, such as
concert halls, instead of salons. The
final movement contains elaborate
parts, which can be described as
symphonical. This is the reason why
this composition needs to be performed
in a space large enough for the sound to
resonate. As it was composed in a
minor scale, unlike the first two
Brahms’ sonatas, this sonata is much
less peaceful and it varies from
movement to movement. After the
lyrical and dramatic first movement, the
next one is an Adagio. The third
movement is sentimental, playful, but
sometimes also rhapsodic, and it
finishes in strong, short series in a crazy
tarantella rhythm.
For 35 years composer Arvo Pärt (born
in 1935) has had a prominent place
among the East-European composers
associated with the New Simplicity
movement, a musical style which did
away with cold, mathematically created
music and rough atonal avant-garde
sound and re-introduced tonal
language, clarity and in most cases,
neo-romanticist sound.
Pärt grew up in Estonia, which was
between the Soviets and the Nazis
during World War II, and later became
a Soviet Socialist Republic (this lasted
until 1991). In the early 1960s Pärt
started adding serial principles in his
works, which was frowned upon by the
Soviet Cultural institutions. This meant
that these works were not to be
performed. By the mid 1960's Pärt had
been immersed in studying Bach and he
soon started composing pieces in
which modernist dissonances were in
stark contrast to the clearly defined
neobaroque tonality. This was most
prominent in the composition Credo
(1986), which shocked the Soviet
officials, not because of its musical
innovations, but because of its title,
which was reminiscent of the forbidden
Christian religion.
Credo was a turning point which
encouraged Pärt to explore greater
simplicity. He started exploring
Medieval and Renaissance chants and
polyphonic music (the very title of the
composition Fratres, which means
‘brothers’, might have religious
connotations) and focussed on the
mystical energy emanating from the
notes played simultaneously. By 1976
he had found the essence of style which
he used further on and which was also
used in the composition Fratres: a tonal
technique which he named tintinabuli
(because of the resonances which
reminded of bells). Pärt explained the
tintinabuli method in the following
way: ‘Tintinnabulation is an area I
sometimes wander into when I am
searching for answers - in my life, my
music, my work. In my dark hours, I
have the certain feeling that everything
outside this one thing has no meaning.
The complex and many-faceted only
confuses me, and I must search for unity.
What is it, this one thing, and how do I
find my way to it? Traces of this perfect
thing appear in many guises - and
everything that is unimportant falls
away. Tintinnabulation is like this. . . .
The three notes of a triad are like bells.
And that is why I call it tintinnabulation.’
At first, in 1977, Fratres was composed
for the string quartet and the wind
quintet, but by 1992 Pärt had made
many arrangements of this piece for
different ensembles, the most often
performed ones being the arrangement
for the violin, string orchestra and
percussions and the one for the violin
and the piano. The latter was composed
in 1980 and dedicated to the Latvian
violinist Gidon Kremer (born in 1947).
Praised by Ravel and rejected by
strane Saint-Saëns, Claude Debussy
(1862 – 1918) was a French patriot, who
worked hard in order to protect and
preserve the French culture. His opera,
Pelléas et Mélisande, created in 1902,
was a turning point in French music
and it strongly influenced both his
contemporaries and younger
composers. Considered to be the first
and foremost Impressionist composer,
Debussy developed his style thanks to
the influence of the music of the Far
East into a sound full of innovative
harmonies and tone colours
characterized by modesty and
emotional warmth.
It is precisely the Sonata for Violin and
Piano in G Major that represents a
fantastic balance of sweetness, fire,
humour, nostalgia and even melancholy.
Created at the very end of the composer’s
life, it is one of the finest examples of
Debussy’s composing and artistic skills.
At the time od its creation, Debussy had
already been diagnosed with cancer. He
continued composing regardless of his
deteriorating health, partly due to
financial reasons. In 1915 he started a
new project: a series of six sonatas
composed for different instrument
combinations. Sonata for Violin and
Piano was the third in the series and also
the last piece he completed before his
death. Debussy himself was rather
autoironic in commenting this piece,
autoirony being a prominent feature of
his painful final days: ‘This sonata is
going to be interesting from a
documentarist point of view, as an
example of what an ill man can create at
time of war.’ The challenge of composing
for the violin-piano duo is the
collaboration between the senses and the
spirit. Unlike other sonatas from his
earlier periods, or other sonatas of
Debussy’s time, two instruments do not
accompany each other without a clear
mutual relationship - one instrument
leads whereas the other has a
countermelody or just a motive. This
finally created a different kind of
sonority and texture; two instruments
challenge each other, but their disputes
end in bringing them closer together.
The painful accords from the opening of
the first movement Allegro vivo, played
on the piano, immediately transport the
listener to a depressed atmosphere, full
of nostalgia and sadness. The movement
is filled with rhythmic and harmonic
indecisiveness and a continuous flow,
regardless of the speed. As a contrast, the
middle movement, Fantasque et léger,
just as its name says, is mostly fantastic,
capricious and at times melodious,
almost sensual. Debussy completed the
last movement, Très animé, in October
1916, four months before he completed
the previous two movements. Most
movements are a demonstration of
vivacity and strength. It is interesting to
note that in this sonata Debussy used a
very wide range of violin tones, starting
with G, the lowest tone possible to high
C sharp (three octaves and half a tone
above c1).
As the son of a violin teacher and
composer, Igor Alexandrovich Frolov
(born in 1937) grew up in a very
musical environment. At the age of five
he started learning the violin, in 1955
he started the famous Moscow
Conservatory and soon after became
one of the leading Russian violinists of
his generation.
Frolov never had any formal education
in composing, but he started writing
music thanks to the advice of the violin
virtuoso David Oistrakh (1908 – 1974),
who suggested he should write a new
cadenza for Mozart’s Violin and
Orchestra Concerto No. 5. Frolov
invented three different cadenzas, but
this remained his first and last attempt
at composing, all the way until 1989
when his first composition appeared.
Even though he grew up following the
tradition of classical music, Frolov was
fond of jazz from a very early age.
When he was a student at the Moscow
Conservatory, jazz was prohibited and it
was virtually impossible to find
recordings of this kind of music. In
trying to find a solution to this problem,
Frolov went to see foreign films and,
upon returning home, he would try to
recreate harmonies and improvisations
of his favourite melodies. He was
interested in this musical style
throughout his life so many of his works
contain elements of jazz. One such
piece is one of his most famous and
popular works, the virtuoso Fantasy
Concertante for Violin and Piano after
George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess
(1935). This piece is an outstanding
example of arranging songs from this
jazz opera in a way which adapts itself
to the possibilities offered by an
instrument such as the violin.
Jelena Grazio