Sonata in D Major for Violin and Piano, Opus 10

This is a re-post of a work that was deleted from the site during the conversion.  It was composed in the spring of 2009 - hard to believe it's been 10 years already.  Time flies...

The work is in three movements, following the traditional 19-century pattern.  Movement 1 is a sonata-allegro, movement 2 is in ternary form, and the final movement is a sort of rondo (ABABA).  The recording was taken at the dress rehearsal prior to a performance in 2014.  I didn't have a long enough extension cord to get the recording device past the back end of the piano, so unfortunately the balance is a bit off, but it'll do for here.

Enjoy!

Welcome back! It's a real pleasure to hear more of your amazing romantic music! I only joined this site after the conversion, so this is the first time I've ever heard this sonata.

 - The 1st movement is very reminiscent of Brahms' violin sonatas, in terms of emotional content, form, and the delivery of thematic material. Very elegant sonata-allegro, with a nice balance of emotions in the development. Well done!

 - The 2nd movement is just beautiful. What a wonderful emotion to open up the movement, sending the listener to a lovely place. I like your choice of having a darker middle section. But the recapitulation of the 1st theme is my favorite moment in the whole movement. It's just so beautiful and satisfying, the orchestration and the emotional and musical content, especially at the climax at around 6:30.

 - The 3rd movement is my favorite movement in the sonata, mostly for its thematic clarity. I like how you start the movement in A major, and then finally reach the sonata's home key of D major for the joyous ending.

It's a really amazing composition! Also, the recording's balance didn't bother me, and I was able to enjoy the music all the same. Great playing from both you and the violinist!

Best,

Theo 😀

Nice to hear from you, Theo.  I hope all has been well with you!  Have you posted any new works recently?

I'm glad you enjoyed this sonata, and I appreciate the observations.  Do you have perfect pitch?  Most people wouldn't have heard that the 3rd movement didn't start in the tonic key.

Hi, @pianist_1981, thank you for responding! I have posted a few solo piano works here, and it would be an honor for me if you listened to some of them. The pieces I have posted are: the Fantasia in F-sharp minor, Op 7, the Serenade in E-flat major, Op. 8, and the Improvisation on a Theme by Rachmaninoff, Op. 9. I also have a post on underrated romantic composers, which might interest you. And yes, I do have perfect pitch.

Best,

Theo 😄

Theo, I'd be happy to take a look at these works.  Perhaps I can find some time this weekend, though I can't make any promises.  It's been a busy time for me!

I agree with Theodore, the 3rd movement is the more captivating one.

Very nice sounds also.

I have a very poor knowledge of piano, and wouldn't be able to produce such kind of works.

Congrats 🙂

Thanks for listening, Marc.  If it makes you feel better, I'm a pianist, and I still find it difficult to write for this instrument.  It's easy enough to stick a melody with a simple accompaniment, but that doesn't produce a very compelling result.  It's much, much harder to write in a way that makes the instrument sound genuinely good, and in the revision stage, it is the piano part that I find myself changing the most.  This is why I generally don't share any work I've written that involves the piano until I've had a chance to perform it myself.  In the process of learning the piece, many things get changed in the piano part, regardless of how careful I thought I was when initially composing it!