Sonata for Violin and Cello (Ravel)

The Sonata for Violin and Cello is a composition Maurice Ravel and is considered one of the most important for Streichduo. It bears the inscription " A la mémoire de Claude Debussy ".

Formation, structure and style

Ravel composed the first sentence in 1920 for a special issue of the music magazine La Revue musicale, in which other prominent composers of works published as a tribute to the late Claude Debussy in 1918, including Paul Dukas, Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. About two years later, Ravel completed his composition to more records for a sonata, which he also dedicated to Debussy. The movements are:

• Allegro
• Très vif
• Lent
• Vif, avec entrain

The simple motifs of the first movement is contrapuntal, partly laid out as canon, a constant alternation between major and minor creates unusual dissonances. The rapid scherzo irritates the sonic palette of the strings of rattling Pizzicati up to spherical harmonics. The slow third movement begins with a cello solo that rises with the onset of the violin to an expressive, almost shrill indictment until the set fades harmoniously. The finale, which builds on the virtuosity of the scherzo is in turn determined by dance rhythms.

Reception

The sonata was first performed on 6 April 1922 in Paris by Hélène Jourdan - Morhange and Maurice Maréchal, who were unable to cope with new and challenging material at the premiere. Critics accused Ravel ago after the performance, to have committed a "massacre" on the soloist. Like other works of Ravel 's Sonata sat down, however, after initial rejection by and was soon listed frequently.

Ravel himself some years later described the work as a turning point in the development of his work. Ravel's interest in linearity, bitonality and other forms of modern music are reflected especially clear path in this work.