Sonata for Solo Violin (Bartók)

The Sonata for Solo Violin Sz. 117, BB 124, is a sonata for unaccompanied violin composed by Béla Bartók.

Composition

Violinist Yehudi Menuhin commissioned a work for solo violin from Bartók in November 1943. It was written in New York and in Asheville, North Carolina, where Bartók underwent treatment for leukemia. Bartók finished composing the piece in March 1944. He wrote letters to Menuhin in April and June 1944 to agree on minor changes to make the Sonata easier to play.

The Sonata

The Sonata consists of four movements:

# Tempo di ciaccona
# Fuga (Risoluto, non troppo vivo)
# Melodia (Adagio)
# Presto.

The Tempo di ciaccona is written somewhat in the style of a chaconne, with a recognizable harmonic and rhythmic pattern stated at the beginning and subjected to increasing variations.

The Fuga begins with a three-voice fugue on a pulsating, staccato melody. After a section where the melody is accompanied quietly with fast running notes, it returns as a series of chords, alternately played with the bow and plucked.

The Melodia begins with a lyrical melody, stated alone and in all different registers of the instrument. It continues in sixths, octaves, and tenths, accompanied by trills and tremolos.

The Presto alternates between a very quiet, fast, bumblebee-like passage played with a mute, and a cheerful melody. Bartók originally wrote the rapid passages in quarter-tones, but many violinists choose to perform a version, suggested by Menuhin, that only uses the standard 12 notes of Western classical music.

The Solo Sonata presents violinists with many difficulties and uses the full gamut of violin techniques: several notes played simultaneously (multiple stops), artificial harmonics, left-hand pizzicato executed simultaneously with a melody played with the bow, and wide leaps between pitches.

ources

Bartók, Béla (1994). "Sonata for Solo Violin: Urtext Edition". New York: Boosey and Hawkes.

Menuhin, Yehudi (1976). "Unfinished Journey". New York: Alfred Knopf.