Violin Sonata in B minor

There is no violin sonata in the regular repertoire more dramatic, more passionate, more demanding in virtuosity than Respighi’s in B minor. Written in 1917, just after the first and best of his Roman tone poems, Fontane di Roma, it represents the composer in his early maturity, formidably equipped in technique if not at all inclined to develop in any progressive direction. The only alien element in the basically late-romantic language is the occasional exoticism in the violin line: there is a characteristically sensual example shortly after the beginning of the opening Moderato. Far more significant, however, is the melody presented by the violin on its first entry. Its opening phrase, a wide leap upwards and a short step downwards – Respighi’s equivalent to the cyclic theme in the still influential Franck Violin Sonata – is to be heard in one form or another at several strategic points in the work.

While the cyclic motif has no part to play in the serene outer sections of the Andante espressivo in E major, it is eloquently recalled in the dramatic middle section – first by the piano and then, in a kind of cadenza, by the violin. If the piano writing in the Andante espressivo suggests an allegiance to Brahms it is confirmed in the last movement, not least because it takes the form of a passacaglia. This is not to say that the work loses anything of its distinctive identity here. Far from it: with the cyclic motif worked into the B minor passacaglia theme there is no danger of losing touch with the previous movements. Although the variations proceed for the most part in regular ten-bar cycles, there are numerous changes of tempo and tonality, including a B major Allegro molto e appassionato episode clearly featuring the cyclic motif in the violin part. The work ends in a distinctly demonic frame of mind.

There is no violin sonata in the regular repertoire more dramatic, more passionate, more demanding in virtuosity (of both the violinist and the pianist) than Respighi’s in B minor - and that includes Franck’s in A major. It is true that it owes much to the Franck Sonata but it is even more spontaneous than that work and at the same time, since its three movements last almost as long Franck’s four, scarcely less ambitious in construction. Written in 1917, just after the first and best of his Roman tone poems, Fontane di Roma, and at about the same time as the first of his three suites of Ancient Airs and Dances, it represents the composer in his early maturity, formidably equipped in technique and poised to develop in any direction (providing it wasn’t too progressive). As it turned out, the sensationalist and the antiquarian prevailed over the romantic in him. If this makes the Violin Sonata seem anomalous in relation to the Respighi we know best, it is no less truthful for that.

The Sonata in B minor is one of the last Respighi scores not to be marked by Gregorian modality, which according to his wife “became a craze with him” when she introduced him to it in 1919. The only alien element in the basically late-romantic language in this case is the occasional exoticism in the violin line: there is a characteristically sensual example shortly after the beginning of the work. Far more significant, however, is the melody presented by the violin on its first entry. Its opening phrase, a wide leap upwards and a short step downwards, is Respighi’s equivalent of Franck’s cyclic theme and is to be heard in one form or another at several strategic points in the work. If the second subject, a sweetly lyrical melody of Franckish shape introduced in D major high on the E-string, is less important from a long-term point of view it occupies just as much of the composer’s attention in this opening Moderato. His impulse is to bring the two themes into close but not necessarily harmonious association with each other. He jostles them together in a particularly eventful development section and, after setting them apart again in the recapitulation, reconciles them in a tranquil coda in B major.

The cyclic motif has no part to play in the outer sections of the Andante espressivo in E major, where mainly serene melody is set against broken chords in a gently syncopated rocking rhythm on the piano. The middle section is very much more dramatic and, although it reintroduces the rocking rhythm at one point, it is intense in expression, unsettled in tempo and massively emphatic at its climax - where first the piano and then, in a kind of cadenza, the violin recall the cyclic motif from the first movement. After that it takes some time to restore serenity for a reprise of the opening material which, however, is duly recalled with some exchange of roles between the two instruments.

If the piano writing in the Andante espressivo suggests an allegiance to Brahms on Respighi’s part it is confirmed in the last movement, partly because it takes the form of a passacaglia and partly because the rhythm of the violin part in the second variation is so characteristic of the German composer. This is not to say that the work loses anything of its distinctive identity here. Far from it: with the cyclic motif worked into the B minor passacaglia theme there is no danger of losing touch with the previous movements. There is no danger either of predictability or academicism. Although the variations proceed for the most part in regular ten-bar cycles, there are numerous changes of tempo and tonality, including a B major Allegro molto e appassionato episode clearly featuring the cyclic motif in the violin part. In spite of that and another, lingering B major allusion to the motif towards the end, B minor sadly re-asserts itself with a Lento e pesante version of the passacaglia theme on the piano. The work ends in a distinctly demonic frame of mind.

Gerald Larner©2002