7 Violin Sonatas YOU should Listen to this Week

Hello everyone! Last year, I published an article entitled 7 Piano Sonatas YOU Should Listen to This Week, in which I misused the word "song" twice. Anyway, today I am continuing that concept with this article. Here are 7 Violin Sonatas YOU should Listen to this Week:

7. Violin Sonata no. 7 in C-Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven

This is my first time listening to this sonata. This is a recording of my teacher playing it with Barbara Govatos. This sonata sounds quite passionate, much like Beethoven's ordinary style.
1st Movement: Allegro Con Brio
Parts of this first movement of this piece remind me of the first movement of his Sonata Pathétique. It is also obviously Beethoven when he reaches what seems to be the ending of an idea and interrupts himself mid-cadence, avoiding a resolution. This leaves the listener wanting more.

2nd Movement: Adagio cantabile
I'd say that a lot of Beethoven's greatest works have been slow and tender movements. As I have said time and again, we often think of composers like Beethoven as angry men with a quill and a talent for writing music. Movements like this prove that Beethoven also had a loving and tender side.

3rd Movement: Scherzo: Allegro
This movement is a Scherzo, meaning joke in Italian. Beethoven often referred to his minuets as Scherzos because they were too fast for someone to dance to. You really can hear the dance-like playfullness in this music. I can imagine this being dubbed over a video of a little kid just running about and dancing.

4th Movement: Finale: Allegro
I love how Beethoven uses the bass to start the first few measures of this movement. He then builds the other instruments on top of it, and uses that to lead into a new idea. It's like when you are on a train and you slowly start to move, and before you know it, you're at top speed traveling towards your destination.

6. Violin Sonata in A-Major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(@ned's favorite composer)

Mozart is one of the necessities for this list. It is widely known that he was a piano virtuoso at a young age, but he was also a Violin virtuoso. His repertoire amongst all instruments is excessive, but especially for piano and violin. This performance is by Henryk Szeryng (violin) and Ingrid Haebler (piano).
1st Movement: Molto Allegro (0:00)
A lot of this first movement sounds like a conversation between the violin and the piano. One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of what Mozart does seems like showing off, but I really think that he wrote what he felt sounded good. What sounded good just happened to take a skilled performer to play. It is like when you speak to a scientist and they use words that are hard to understand, like "blockchain technology."
2nd Movement: Andante (6:48)
This movement is quite beautiful. It also sounds less like a conversation, and more like a joint speech.
3rd Movement: Presto (17:40)
This movement is fast. Also, it is much like the first movement in that the Piano part is quite complex. Let's just say, movements like this are why learning scales and arpeggios is necessary for a professional pianist. Later on, the Violin part seems to get pretty complex. I guess that's why you need to know your scales and arpeggios to be a professional violinist.

5. Violin Sonata in F-Minor Felix Mendelssohn

This is Mendelssohn's only "published" Violin Sonata, meaning it is the only one to hold an opus, even though he wrote two others in F-major. He would have been 16 when he wrote this, meaning this was around the same time that he wrote the String Octet in E-flat Major (which wasn't published until opus 20). This is performed by Shlomo Mintz (violin) and Paul Ostrovsky (piano).
1st Movement: Adagio - Allegro Moderato (0:00)
This is the first time I've heard a violin sonata open with only the violin playing. It was almost as if it were a cadenza. It really does show Mendelssohn's understanding of this instrument, even at a young age. Of all of the composers, Mendelssohn is probably the most gifted violinist after Vivaldi. The theme at 5:22 is quite beautiful.
2nd Movement: Poco Adagio (10:26)
The theme to this slow movement is quite beautiful. It is quite tender. Much of it makes me think of floating on the sea when waters are calm, during sunset.
3rd Movement: Allegro agitato (19:10)
This movement is fast. My father pointed out how the theme sounds somewhat like Beethoven's fifth (short short short long). It is not completely the same, and give the 16 year old kid credit. The theme is still original in my oppinion.

4. Violin Sonata no. 1 - Robert Schumann

Schumann wrote this sonata in the span of a week (September 12– 16 September 1851). He reportedly did not like it, writing "I did not like the first Sonata for Violin and Piano; so I wrote a second one, which I hope has turned out better." This performance is by Ara Malikian (violin) and Serouj Kradjian (piano).
Movement 1: Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck (0:00)
The expression marking, and title, for this "means with passionate expression." The theme to this first movement sounds quite omious. It makes me think of somethig that plays during the "calm before the storm."
Movement 2: Allegretto (8:35)
This slow movement sounds playful to me. Like something that would play as a husband plays a small trick on his wife, like hiding something from her as a joke.
Movement 3: Lebhaft (13:22)
The expression markig on this movement means lively in German. Remember how movement 1 was the calm before the storm? This is the storm. It is fast paced, and does make me think of hidig out in shelter with your friends while the storm rages outside.

3. Sonatina in G Major - Atonin Dvorak

Seeing that this was Dvorak's 100th opus, he wanted to dedicate it to his children. He wrote this piece mainly for his 15-year-old daughter Ottilie and 10-year-old son Toník. He wrote that it was mainly a student piece, but he also intended for adults to "converse" with it. I turned pages for my piano teacher and Barbara Govatos when they played this piece. It is a fun little piece. This performance is by Alexander Tal (violin) and Geza Frid (piano).
Movement 1: Allegro risoluto (0:00)
This first movement sounds like music you might hear at the shire in The Hobbit. I don't know why, it just makes me think of that story.
Movement 2: Larghetto (5:45)
This slow movement sounds, in a way, tragic. Its style sounds similar to that of the first movement. I can still imagine this being the soundtrack to the hobbit. Towards the middle, this movementn begins to sound less tragic and a little bit playful. (with the piano arpeggios).
Movement 3: Molto Vivace (9:55)
This movement sounds very playful. Like something that would play as a peewee soccer team celebrates their victory. The theme to this movemet is very catchy.
Movement 4: Allegro (12:45)
This sounds much like western music. I forgot to metion that this was one of the last chamber pieces that Dvorak wrote during his trip to the United States. I wonder if this was his "tribute" to what he had heard in New York. That's just a thought though.

2. Sonatatina for Violin and Piano in D major - Franz Schubert

Of course I had to include a Schubert piece in this list. This performance is by Radu Lupu (piano) Szymon Goldberg (violin).
Movement 1: Allegro Molto (0:00)
One thing I love about Schubert is how catchy his themes are. The first theme he uses is very catchy, and he knows it. He makes sure to use it as much as he can. His second theme is also catchy.
Movement 2: Andante (4:07)
The theme Schubert uses for this movement reminds me of the 1812 Overture theme. It is quite interesting.
Movement 3: Allegro Vivace (8:07)
This theme is also catchy. One thing I love about this sonata, is that it is short, but gets the point across.

1. Violin Sonata no. 8 - Ludwig van Beethoven

This is probably my favorite sonata. Period. It has everything from playful to tender to exhilerating. I turned pages for this piece at the same performance as the Dvorak Sonatina. This piece brings back so many memories of my first experience turning pages for Mr. Barone. This performance is by Marcantonio Barone (piano) and Barbara Govatos (violin).
Movement 1: Allegro Assai
This movement is very playful. It does a great job at intriguing the audience. I especially love in the development (around 3:45) it sounds like a storm. Here is the first movement:

Movement 2: Tempo di Minuetto
This is one of the most gorgeous slow movements I have heard. It brings back so many memories of my first experience turning pages. It is quite cool how beethoven pairs the piano and violin together in this movement to make one of the most beautiful slow sonata movements there is.

Movement 3: Allegro Vivace
This is the exhilerating movement I was talking about. I remember how surprised I was when this only had three movements. The whole thing is just really fun to listen to (and to watch).

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Image Source, Pixabay.com (License CC0, Public Domain)

Thanks for reading this! On Monday, I will be continuing my commentaries on the Confucian Aanalects (at 6:00pm est). Hopefully I will see you there!

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sammie85 (46) · 7 years ago

I must confess your article above speaks volume about your sound understanding of music as an art and it is something i still hope to find time to learn by attending a music school cos I have always had an affinity for music. The only challenge over the years has been my choice to be a programmer which is a very jealous career. Mind you, i have listened to a few stuffs by Beethoven so i can relate a bit to some part of your post. Kudos!

$0.96

2 votes

cmp2020 (72) · 7 years ago

Thank you! It is never too late to learn about something. Confucius studied music when he was 29. Good luck!

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sammie85 (46) · 7 years ago (edited)

Will certainly do cos I believe music is a global language commonly spoken by people of diverse culture and tongues and whoever is talented at speaking the language of music can reach the world as a whole. Thanks

mineopoly (64) · 7 years ago

Thanks. This is like having a custom tailored classical radio station only better because the music is good.

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1 vote

sumayyahsaidso (64) · 7 years ago

All of these selections are so pretty and relaxing.

geiger (51) · 7 years ago

I played a little violin ages ago but have really been feeling the itch to pick it back up. Posts like this don't ease that sentiment at all. lol - Thanks!

musicapoetica (54) · 7 years ago

No Baroque sonatas? Devil's trill by Tartini?

bengy (73) · 7 years ago

One of my favourite violin sonatas is the one by Cesar Franck. For quite a while it was one of my go to pieces, that I could have ready at short notice. Not so friendly for the pianist though...

violinist (48) · 7 years ago

Good stuff! I'll follow you.