1. Isobel Howard-Cordone violin
Didzis Kalninš piano
Notes from the Continent
with an expansive, poignant melody. The
extended passage for solo violin which
follows includes intricate double-stopping,
creating a sense of counterpoint within
the violin part alone. The return of the
piano marks the start of a more animated
section of the work, the violin singing a
wide-ranging, discursive, often passionate
melody. Chausson sustains this continuous
outpouring of music with remarkably little
repetition. As the passion subsides, the
violin plays an extended high trill, ending
the piece with spine-tingling delicacy.
Like the majority of Richard Strauss’s
chamber works, his Violin Sonata dates
fromhisearlyperiod.Oncehehadmastered
the orchestral medium, he abandoned
the chamber music genre, only belatedly
returning to it in 1948. The completion
of the violin sonata in 1887 would mark
the conclusion of his early period and
simultaneously the moment to venture into
new territory.
During the years 1884/1885, his works
still clearly exhibited the influence of the
music of Brahms, whom he had met while
an assistant to Hans von Bülow and had
come increasingly under the spell of the
composer’s oeuvre.
Strauss would subsequently distance
himself from his youthful works and
deprecate them as “products of my
temporary Brahms hysteria.” His discovery
of the music of Wagner and Liszt, as well as
the philosophical writings of Schopenhauer,
would send him off in a new compositional
direction. The work’s harmonies,
chromaticism, brilliant instrumentation
and use of counterpoint all look forward
toward Don Juan and the compositions
which follow it.
Encompassing the grand manner as well as
tenderness and intimacy, the expansive first
movement has an abundance of melodic
material. The heroic opening bars in 4/4
containalittlerhythmicfigurewhichproves
to be an obsessive feature of many passages.
Further themes are introduced by the piano
and violin respectively, before the arrival of
the second subject, the latter half of which
returns to the espressivo piano melody. The
exhaustive development section is wide-
ranging in both tonality and mood.
The central “Improvisation” – which
from the beginning enjoyed an existence
as a separate piece – has a stormy middle
section that soon dissolves into filigree
decoration which Strauss then combines
with the reprise of the opening melody. In
the last few bars the piano part quotes from
the adagio of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata.
The finale returns to the healthy bravura
of the first movement, beginning with a
sombre andante piano introduction, which
includes an anticipation of the principal
theme of the ensuing allegro. Strauss makes
great play with one particular scherzando
idea, which contrasts with the more
lyrical themes. Following the vigorous
and adventurous development section, a
tremendous flourish for the piano heralds
the recapitulation.
As mentioned above, Strauss consigned
the sonata genre to his compositional past
relatively early in his career. And his violin
sonata could very well have ended up in the
dust of oblivion, were it not for the fact that
Jascha Heifetz took a particular liking to it.
He first performed it on 10 October 1933 in
a recital in America and would continue to
champion it until the end of his career.
Isobel and Didzis would like to dedicate this concert to the memory of Paola
Paulon, who, through her endless love for music and the arts, enabled them
to meet and work together.
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2. Recitativo eArioso,ashortpièced’occasion,
was written in 1951 and is a work which
clearly shows the composer’s care for form
and attention to detail.
Lutoslawski composed it before he began
using controlled aleatoric techniques. It
is a melancholic, masterful miniature but
does not feature any of the folk sources that
provided melodic and rhythmic material
for many of his pieces of that time.
The violin lines are very expressive, with
uplifting fourths and “crying” major and
minor seconds. Despite its immediate
impact and apparent simplicity, the piece
presents some difficult challenges for the
violinist.
The violin Sonata No. 1, Op.80 was
composed between 1938 and 1946 and
belongs to the group of works that were
started before the outbreak of World War II.
Itincorporatesapensiveanddarkemotional
introspection and rhythmic drive.
Prokofiev distanced himself from the model
of Viennese classicism that his generation
had inherited; instead, he adopted the
slow-fast-slow-fast division of the Baroque
sonata.
The first movement begins with a brooding
dialogue between the piano and violin.
They very shortly join to create a unison of
darkened spirit. The extended conclusion
to the andante assai uses fleeting scales
shimmering above chords in the piano.
This effect is interrupted by soft pizzicato
interjections in the middle and at the
conclusion of the movement.
The allegro brusco has the typical rhythmic
intensity that is characteristic of so much
of Prokofiev’s music: it is sharp-edged and
contrasted by intense lyrical melody.
The andante, a kind of nocturnal meditation,
is lyrical and touching in its melodic
content. Both piano and violin interchange
the beautiful, longing theme against a
spinning semiquaver note sextuplet figure
throughout the movement.
The finale opens in jubilant exuberance with
the first theme in 5, 7 and 8-measure bars,
clearly imparting the flavour of Russian
folk music.
It employs the same rhythmic drive that is
reminiscent of the second movement except
with a more optimistic spirit. However, as it
progresses towards its finality, it once again
returnstothedarkandpessimisticcharacter
of the very beginning of the sonata, bringing
the work to a reflective end.
Fantasie brillante sur “Faust” opéra de
Charles Gounod Op. 20, dedicated to the
King of Denmark, was written in 1865. All
the greatest 19th-century virtuosos were
keen to write paraphrases and fantasies on
themes from works by their masters and
contemporaries. In this piece, the fans of the
Gounod masterpiece will recognise the aria
of Valentine, the monologue of Faust and
Siebel’s aria, the song of Mephistopheles,
and the aria of Faust with his duet with
Marguerite – all this beautifully blended
together and subjected to variation.
Wieniawski’s death marked the end of the
romantic epoch of great virtuosos; although
there are no records of how the Polish
violinist played his music, he still continues
to influence the way young violinists
develop their violin techniques.
Poème of 1896, is a fantasy in which the
fluid form is broadly divided into episodes,
each linked thematically. This approach
suited the freedom and flexibility Chausson
had been developing in his musical style.
Chausson produced three versions of
Poème: for violin and orchestra, violin
and piano, and for violin, piano and string
quartet; in each the violin part is almost
identical.Inthisversionforviolinandpiano,
the piano’s brooding, enigmatic opening
bars establish the work’s impressionistic
harmony and dark-hued colours, rather
similar to the piano music of Debussy.
A rippling texture creates a sense of
forward motion, before the violin enters
Isobel Howard-Cordone began her violin studies at the age of three and a half under the
teaching of Maria Kelemen. Since then, through the guidance of Ronald Masin, she has acquired
an extensive repertoire, ranging from baroque to contemporary music; she has also played as a
soloist with orchestra in prestigious European venues such as the Musikverein (Vienna), Teatro
Olimpico (Vicenza), and the Royal Conservatoire Hall (Brussels).
Isobel has taken part in both solo and ensemble master classes, including those given by
Leon Spierer (Germany), members of the Vanbrugh Quartet (Ireland), Christoph Ehrenfellner
(Austria), andAlfredo Bernardini (Italy), and has successfully participated in numerous national
and international violin competitions, as well as in the recording of three compact discs.
As a student of Young European Strings School of Music, she has been active as an ensemble
musician for over a decade, playing in its chamber orchestra, quartets, trios, and duos, with
great enjoyment.
Didzis Kalniņš started his musical studies at Jānis Norvilis Madonas Music school, followed
by Jāzeps Mediņš Rīga Music Secondary school and Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Music academy under
the guidance of professor Juris Kalnciems. He is currently continuing with a Master Degree in
pianoforte performance at Arrigo Pedrollo Conservatoire (Vicenza), under the guidance of pianist
and conductor Marco Tezza.
He has performed in many master classes, given by renown musicians such as Lauri Väinmaa
(Estonia), Ronan O’Hora (United Kingdom), Dang Thai Shon (Korea), Petras Geniušas
(Lithuania), Benedetto Lupo, Stefania Neonato, Marco Tezza (Italy), Mícheál O’Rourke (Ireland),
Eric Tawaststjerna (Finland), Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg (Israel), Stefan Scheja (Sweden).
Didzis has successfully participated in many piano competitions, concerts and music festivals
as a soloist, and with other musicians, enjoying the diversity and benefits of chamber music.
LUTOSŁAWSKI, WITOLD (1913-1994)
Recitativo e Arioso
Notes from the Continent
Isobel Howard-Cordone & Didzis Kalnins
John Field Room, National Concert Hall
PROKOFIEV, SERGEI (1891-1953)
Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
I. Andante assai; II. Allegro brusco; III. Andante; IV. Allegrissimo
WIENIAWSKI, HENRYK (1835-1880)
Fantasie Brillante sur des motifs de l’opéra ”Faust” de Gounod, Op. 20
CHAUSSON, ERNEST (1855-1899)
Poème, Op. 25
• • I N T E R V A L • •
STRAUSS, RICHARD (1864-1949)
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
I. Allegro ma non troppo; II. “Improvisation” – Andante cantabile; III. Andante–Allegro
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YOUNG EUROPEAN STRINGS