A Wealth of Expression and Form Works for Violin and Piano by Brahms, Skalkottas, and Enescu
Michael Horst
When 53-year-old Johannes Brahms arrived at the lovely Lake Thun, not far from Berne, for his first visit in 1886, he had no idea that the place would inspire him to write a slew of new chamber music works and songs. Even during that first Swiss summer, he composed the Cello Sonata in F major Op. 99, the Violin Sonata in A major Op. 100, and the Piano Trio in C minor Op. 101, in addition to songs such as Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer and Wie Melodien zieht es mir. One work, on the other hand, remained a torso during that first visit, reaching completion only during Brahms’s third summer in Thun in 1888: the Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor Op. 108. The finished work does not betray this passing of time; its entire conception reveals the mastery of a mature composer using his rich means of expression to meld similar and contrasting elements into one whole. A notable aspect of this sonata—especially its two outer movements—is that Brahms was clearly aiming for concertolike brilliance. One possible explanation might be the work’s dedication to the great piano virtuoso and conductor Hans von Bülow, a friend of Brahms. Grand gestures dominate, especially in the first movement’s expansive violin theme. This melody is anchored by an exceedingly agitated piano accompaniment. Indeed, the entire sonata is marked by a certain nervous forward propulsion and by contrapuntal movement—in marked contrast to its sunnier sibling, the Sonata in A major. In the development, an unexpectedly archaic note is struck by the pedal point on the dominant A, held for 46 measures and resulting in tension-filled 17
