On Sunday afternoon, two talented faculty members - Chin Kim, violin, and David Oei, piano - gave their annual chamber music recital at Mannes. It was a well thought out program that contained in the first half classical works by Schubert and Beethoven and in the second half a selection of exciting twentieth century pieces by Ysaÿe, Falla and Szymanowski.
The program opened with Schubert's Sonata in G minor for Violin and Piano, D 408 (1816). This piece, one of three Schubert composed while still only 19 years old, was originally published posthumously under the title "sonatina" by Diabelli in 1836 in the hope of attracting less skilled amateur violinists to purchase it. Though it sounds deceptively simple, and perhaps for that reason is not often performed by virtuosi, it is actually a complex and rewarding work. It was a pleasure to hear this sonata, particularly the mellow andante, played so well.
The next work was Beethoven's Sonata in C minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, No. 2 (1802), a work that was composed more than a decade before Schubert's sonata. It has often been said that Beethoven's violin sonatas are actually piano sonatas with violin accompaniment, and it is noteworthy that it is the piano alone that opens all four movements here and introduces the theme of each. The work was written at a critical time in Beethoven's life shortly after he had drafted the famous Heiligenstadt Testament in an attempt to come to terms with his increasing deafness. That period marked a turning point in the composer's career but it is difficult to detect any inner turmoil in this particular work, least of all in the placid adagio cantabile. It was around this time that the composer's brother Carl assumed something of the role of manager, and it's possible he may have exerted influence on Beethoven to produce pieces suited to popular taste that could more easily be sold to the public. Though the composer had the year before remarked to his friend, violinist Wenzel Krumpholz, "I am only a little satisfied with my previous works. From today on I will take a new path," little of that new direction can be seen here except briefly in the Finale. It would not be until a year later, in the Op. 47 "Kreutzer" sonata, that Beethoven truly achieved a breakthrough in the genre.
After intermission, the program continued with Ysaÿe's Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 6 (1923). This was one of a group of six ambitious sonatas, each one of which was composed in the style of a different violinist and then dedicated to that artist. At last year's recital, Kim performed the No. 4 dedicated to Fritz Kreisler. On this occasion he played that dedicated to Manuel Quiroga, the famous Galician violinist whose career was cut short in the 1930's, first by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in his home country and then by a traffic accident in New York City. (His fellow violinist Kreisler was also badly injured in a similar accident in this same city.) As I have never heard any of Quiroga's recordings, I cannot say how well this piece approximated his style, but it was certainly a lively showpiece that gave Kim an opportunity to fully demonstrate his skill.
Following this came Falla's Suite Populaire Espagnole for Violin and Piano (1926), arranged by Paul Kochański. Though there would not on the surface appear to be any relationship between the music of Falla and Szymanowski, the composer whose work followed this, the link between them was actually Paul Kochański, himself an extremely talented violinist and a composer in his own right. It was he who transcribed six of Falla's Siete canciones populares españolas (1915) into the present arrangement. (So pleased was Falla with what Kochański's had accomplished that he rededicated the newly transcribed work to the violinists's wife.) Though the title would imply that all six songs derive from folk sources, this is only the case with two - Nana and Canción. The other four - El Paño Moruno, Polo, Asturiana and Jota - are original compositions Falla created in the style of Spanish folk music. They are all colorful and passionate in the Latin tradition. Asturiana is probably the best known of the set, but I also very much enjoyed the flamenco sound of Polo.
The evening concluded with two works by Szymanowski, La Fontaine d'Arethuse ("The Fountain of Arethusa"), Op. 30, No. 1 from Mythes (1915) and Tarantella, Op. 28, No. 2 (1915). Mythes, the most popular of Szymanowski's works, took Greek mythology as its source; the section played here, La Fontaine d'Arethuse, tells the story of a nymph fleeing from Alpheus who was turned into a stream. The work was written in close collaboration with Kochański, and the two musicians gave the premiere together in Humań in 1916. (This was another work dedicated to the violinists's wife.) It marked a great change in Szymanowski's style, hitherto heavily influenced by German music. In fact, this new piece contained so wide range of techniques and complicated harmonies that, after having first heard it, Prokofiev asked Kochański to consult with him on the composition of his own First Violin Concerto. Tarantella, another piece premiered by Kochański, was, as its name would suggest, a lively work that provided a fitting end to this thoroughly enjoyable recital.
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