Claude Debussy - Violin Sonata
- Composer: Achille-Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 -- 25 March 1918)
- Performers: Shlomo Mintz (violin), Yefim Bronfman (piano)
- Year of recording: 1986
Violin Sonata in G minor, L 140, for violin and piano, written in 1916-1917.
00:00 - I. Allegro vivo
04:43 - II. Intermède (fantasque et léger)
08:49 - III. Finale (Très animé)
Debussy's Violin Sonata presents a superb balance of sweetness, fire, humor, and nostalgia. It is a work imbued with deep melancholy that also embodies other characteristic traits that make Debussy's work distinguishable from others: a sense of fantasy, freedom, and affective depth. Written at the very end of the composer's life, the Sonata is one of the finest examples of Debussy's compositional and artistic dexterity. At the time of this composition, Debussy was already ill with terminal cancer. He had continued to write despite his failing health, partly for financial reasons. It was in 1915 that he began a project of writing six sonatas for various instrumentations; the Violin Sonata was the third in the set, and the last work he completed before his death.
The challenge for the violin-piano duo in the Violin Sonata is the collaboration of senses and spirit. Unlike sonatas from earlier periods, or other sonatas of Debussy's time, the two instruments do not accompany each other per se; rather, one instrument leads with a pulling energy against the counter melody or motif of the other. Ultimately, this creates a different kind of sonority and texture; the two instruments challenge one another but their arguments ultimately bring them closer together.
- The poignant opening chords of the first movement of Debussy's Violin Sonata, Allegro vivo, played by the piano, immediately transport the listener into a subdued atmosphere, enveloped in nostalgia and sadness. The movement is filled with rhythmic and harmonic ambiguity with an ongoing momentum, regardless of speed.
- In contrast, the middle movement, Fantasque et léger, as indicated by its marking, is mostly light and fantastic, capricious with a hint of coquettishness and with a second theme as surprisingly melodious as it is sensuous.
- Debussy finished the final movement, Très animé, in October 1916, four months before he completed the preceding two movements. It begins with running notes in the piano, punctuated with a melodic emphasis from the second theme of the previous movement. The violin then enters in a slightly modified handling of the nostalgic theme from the beginning of the sonata. The main bulk of the movement, however, is a showcase of agility with a splash. In particular, Debussy uses the maximum pitch range available on the violin, going from the open G (lowest possible note of the instrument) to a C-sharp at three octaves and a half-step above the middle C. For the piano, he demands a tremolo-like speed with atmospheric lightness of touch.
The premiere took place on 5 May 1917, the violin part played by Gaston Poulet, with Debussy himself at the piano. It was his last public performance.
Пікірлер: 149
Unbelievable this is the final piece he wrote and performed before he passed away in March 1918.
@Bilmonis
Жыл бұрын
Yes, the sonata was first performed by Debussy himself and violonist Gérard Poulet in 1917. One amazing thing is that the violonist's son, Gérard Poulet, a well-known violonist too, is still alive in 2023!
TwoSet Violin brought me here. What a beautiful piece, so grateful to be listening to something this gorgeous while the world is so tough right now.
@elo-lights-1790
4 жыл бұрын
Ishita Mathur oh my god ME TOO-
@imatlock7250
4 жыл бұрын
Ha me too
@ishitamathur1614
4 жыл бұрын
Catherine Janet Their latest video about matching artworks to classical music pieces. This was one of the pieces they considered.
@chanakyasarkasali9519
4 жыл бұрын
so happy to see indian twosetters like me
@ekinerol8774
4 жыл бұрын
Me too
This is the very last important piece completed by Debussy. He planned to write six sonatas, but he could compose only three. He suffereed from a cancer in terminal phase, at a time (1918) where the main medical concern was soldiers wounded during harsh battles et the end of WW1. He suffered a lot. Debussy was an antiromantic who hated to show his inner personality in the music, but this suffering induced here a decrease in the usual softness and half-tone character with which he wrote his most audacious music. Here, the harmonies and melodic profiles are more direct and harsher than usual. Just read the three first chords and examine their mutual relationships, which look partly contradictory and drawing the harmony in opposite directions. This is a common feature in Debussy's music, but genearlly the writing is mush softer. Of course, this is a master ermpiece by Dzebussy- and the greatest Debussy. But the music is more "nude" and direct than usual. This feature is in itself quite moving.
@fezzle1154
3 жыл бұрын
Another aspect that makes this piece much more melancholy for me is knowing that he wrote this, not just at the end of his life, but at the end of his career as a prominent composer. His incident with Emily Bardac and his estranged ex wife Lilly tarnished his social image (for those that don't know, Debussy lusted over Emily, and ran away with her. He left Lilly a note saying their marriage was over, and Lilly tried to commit suicide, but the bullet she shot in her chest instead remained lodged there for the rest of her shortened life). With other composers denouncing him and being shunned out of numerous French composing societies left him in a situation where he wasn't just not very well liked, but on top of that, his later pieces fell into obscurity. And this piece to me conveys this anger he feels towards those around him, and towards himself. It feels like a melancholy reflection of his life, parts of it filled with happiness, some with loneliness, and others with anguish.
@lukemarsden5872
2 жыл бұрын
you've over thinking it mate .... it's just lovely music put together from his ideas over 30+ years.
@gerardbegni2806
2 жыл бұрын
@@lukemarsden5872 Please study the score carefully, as well as Debussy's biography. You also can have a look at the study that I published on thew ebsite "Festival du Comminges", "Etudes" section about the three sonatas.
@aryavaseghi5260
2 жыл бұрын
This is an excellent comment. Thank you!
@owenmcgee8496
2 жыл бұрын
the introduction and various parts of this piece remind me of Ravel's later chamber music; it's an even more noticeable influence on Ravel than the similarities in style in a few piano pieces.
This is such a beautiful piece I love Debussy
@twosetviola6278
3 жыл бұрын
I love depussy
@gerardbegni2806
2 жыл бұрын
In addition, it was his final composition, written while he was suffering a lot from a cancer in its final phase. He died some weeks after having completed the sonata and given it to his editor and friend Durand, who visited him quite often. . This happened during the last very deadly months of WW1, when wounded soldiers needed almost all available medical care.
This is a great gift to violin lovers and Debussy enthusiasts
I’m playing this as part of my first official university job post-grad (not counting the collab piano I did in undergrad & grad) & ngl this piece has been intimidating me. I haven’t had time to really study the score, the harmonies, the modalities of the different sections, & it’s been hard to understand…but hearing this recording & reading the comments is helping me a lot. Thanks, fellow musicians ♡
@Shrimp_Insurance
2 жыл бұрын
Good luck!
The phrases at 1:38 are beautiful beyond words. They make me cry everytime I hear them. I feel a sense of healing grace.
Such a masterpiece.
I'm extremely glad that your account is now back up! I love your music and scores.
@olla-vogala4090
9 жыл бұрын
+Sam Goldberg Thank you! I'm glad you're back at my channel too :)
Heard this live in Carthage, Tunisia. Then as now, an unearned pleasure.
IM LOOKING FOR THIS FOR MANY MONTHS!!!!
Sometimes one forgets how affecting some works are until like this; one is reminded. Thank you.
I love the second movement.
Stunning playing and a fantastic piece. What a swan song! Exquisitely constructed and beautifully understated as a masterly fencing engagement. Touché!
It's hard to imagine that amid the pain and chaos Debussy experienced, he could compose with so much precision and imagination.
9:13 - 9:30. best thing ever. so beauty. such perfect.
How could you stand an ad in the middle of this - totally criminal 😞
@frentom
3 жыл бұрын
Get an ad blocker :-)
@dcanjani8837
3 жыл бұрын
@@frentom how? Does it exist?
@frentom
3 жыл бұрын
@@dcanjani8837 On Chrome browser, try Adblock Plus
Simplemente bello.-
Wonderful performance. Thanks for posting.
truly heartwarming harmonies!
Impressionist music is so beautiful.
Nice performance ! Thank you so much :)
@olla-vogala4090
7 жыл бұрын
Happy that you like it!
7:56 no chill
Still my favorite sonata
Mi favorite song of claude debussy. I love it
Hard asf
"Like" on 25 December 22016. A quite Christmas day at home with wife, three cats, and happy memories. This sonata fits in.
@olla-vogala4090
7 жыл бұрын
I'm happy to hear that Harry, that these videos can add to these special moments!
@vinoons
7 жыл бұрын
Harry Andruschak
@nickyork8901
4 жыл бұрын
@Undoubtedly Strange I thought that too!
Una de las más hermosas melodías musicales con mágica fantasía🦄🍷🍷♨🎠🌈🔥🎯♥♦♠🎼🎵🎶🎻 y sentimiento jamás escuchadas. Genial.
Great
very imaginative writing in this one. favourite recording: an old naxos one, featured on an album called 'French violin sonatas', where the playing is very fast and music almost sounds oriental. And yet...at a slower pace (like here) it almost sounds bluesy/American in parts....composed 1915; first performance 1917, when US troops landing in France; maybe some deliberate American tones added. never though of that before. which probably means that I am 100% wrong.
@BeckyMesser
2 жыл бұрын
Why would that make you 100% wrong?
Amazing
10:06 - 10:47 and 11:04 ❤❤❤
Belíssimo ❤
Stunningly beautiful!
7:25 very shimmery 😇
8:48... ❤️ (Leading into the third movement, haha.)
The flowers of Robert Maplethorp
@ThePuncakeDude
5 жыл бұрын
Jaekoff avgn
10:07 sounds like Ravel spanish rhapsody
An unusually raw work from the late Debussy. Reminds me of Bartok. Tantalizingly beautiful.
@BeckyMesser
2 жыл бұрын
I had the same thought!!
son testament musical
melodía en sol eolica y la armonía en lidio, mediante cromática en compás 8, relación tonal (10,11) y sonoridad dórica compás 12 y 13
Gorgeous music. Babbitt brought me here. The autoplay feature is fascinating! The Babbitt selection was Tableaux. Can one of the experts explain if tonality has been left behind here? Tia.
I have to play this for NYSSMA, I'm going to die
@olla-vogala4090
7 жыл бұрын
No you won't, listen to Ferras for another great interpretation, and then decide what your version will sound like. You'll do great!
@VaL3sFlow
6 жыл бұрын
so how did it go?
@wangshijian7472
5 жыл бұрын
a year late but i was wondering how your performance went
@quinto34
4 жыл бұрын
@@wangshijian7472 he dead..
@popmushee
4 жыл бұрын
@@quinto34 for sure ded. rip.
Dang. It'll take me at least 3 years to learn this
@douglasmilton2805
3 жыл бұрын
Only two years and ten months to go - you'll get there!
Ginette et Jean Paul c'est tout, rien d' autres
*"Subsidised, foreign FUCKING VOWELS"* - Jamie McDonald
0:50 woah
"Once upon a time....."
Pov:a lego movie 300 minute ad video came up
8:24
love💘💞
🚀
10:08
Claude Debussy--- Violin Sonata Categorie Music! Licentie Standaard! KZread--Licentie!
Somebody know the edition of the score in the video?
where can i find the fingerings for this?
@wickedwrwr7667
6 жыл бұрын
naega hosh your own fingers
4:21, 1:00
0:12 fucking hell that V 9 7 +
@vishalsubramanian2051
2 жыл бұрын
Omg yeah😭
@na-kun2136
Жыл бұрын
Well impressionism often used them bcs of their good sonority espwcially with that voicing
6:36
1:01
James Ehnes just recorded this, maybe the only one to come close to what Mintz did with it here.
@olla-vogala4090
8 жыл бұрын
+scottbos68 Thanks, I'll look his recording up!
@ziegunerweiser
8 жыл бұрын
When I say he just recorded it, I mean the CD literally came out yesterday. Debussy Elgar and Respighi, I think 3 sonatas that were written around the time of the great war if I am not mistaken.
@nickyork8901
4 жыл бұрын
I would also recommend Ginette Neveu's version.
Did anyone else get a 300 minute ad??
@youraveragemorononyoutube4435
3 жыл бұрын
I found you
@Legomoviefan2008
2 жыл бұрын
Emmet and lucy
Too much rubato in the 2/4 mixed with 3/4 (or 6/8, not sure) sections for my taste
franeck ciuk brought me here
Thumbs down for audio ads in the middle of the music. Shame on KZread.
@titicatfollies6615
4 жыл бұрын
Don't you know about AdBlocker? You can download for free. It will save your life and sanity. It saved mine.
@tojojon1154
4 жыл бұрын
@@titicatfollies6615 Thanks. I have resisted ad blockers because I did not want another program running in the background. Perhaps I should reconsider.
I love that they include the music so you can see how much the artists disrespect the printed music
@josephalvarez5315
4 жыл бұрын
How did they disrespect it, Frank?
@synthesismusic2774
4 жыл бұрын
I mean, Debussy made impressionist music. It's made for artistic liberty.
Coming here after playing genshin impact Fontaine quest
Lolo violin parts are simple but piano very complicated and beautiful It can be a concerto for piano and violin!
@boubou6355
4 жыл бұрын
Bro the piano part is so easy compared to the violon part.. And I say that as a pianist and violonist
@goosegoose8982
2 жыл бұрын
@@boubou6355 one of the easiest piano parts to a sonata for sure
Debussy???
My god... what a beautiful work. However, my dear Shlomo, as I read this work, there is a little more to the nature of those staccatos notes than you seem to want to play and are obviously leaving out. A certain crispness... juxtaposed with the more languid passages would create a heightened sense of presence. And just as obviously, both you and Yefim left out a number of measures. But over all, I would give this recording an 8 on a scale from 1 to 10. However, next time, please... don't be afraid to rall... to your heart's content. In short, relax and play those staccatos intensionally and then slow........... down to a dead stop. CVD
@charlesdavis7087
8 жыл бұрын
Wow, what a chattie soul are. If you take your foot out your mouth for a minute, you might actually have a place to sleep. CVD
@mattrusso8426
7 жыл бұрын
Charles Davis still don't know what you mean by that...?
the first moviment IS NOT of a master.
@CharlioXD
4 жыл бұрын
What do you mean?
Debussy is overrated.
@na-kun2136
3 жыл бұрын
Nope
@iamy3356
3 жыл бұрын
Wtf wrong with ya buddy.
@waysoh
3 жыл бұрын
hell no
@ValzainLumivix
3 жыл бұрын
Nou
@stravinskyfan
2 жыл бұрын
Your mom's ass is overrated I feel sorry for your dad
Debussy is the most overrated composer in history.
10:08