Violin Sonata No. 1 (Saint-Saëns)
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| Violin Sonata No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Violin sonata by Camille Saint-Saëns | |
 Saint-Saëns c. 1880 | |
| Key | D minor |
| Opus | 75 |
| Composed | October 1885 |
| Dedication | Martin Pierre Marsick |
| Published | December 1885 (Durand) |
| Duration | 21 minutes |
| Movements | four |
| Scoring |
|
| Premiere | |
| Date | 9 January 1886 |
| Location | La Trompette, Paris |
| Performers |
|
The Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75, was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in October 1885. Dedicated to Martin Pierre Marsick, it was premiered on 9 January 1886 in Paris. The sonata has been called one of Saint-Saëns' neglected masterpieces.
The violin sonata was a form Saint-Saëns was familiar with: he had completed a Violin Sonata in B♭ major in 1842 – when he was just six years old – and abandoned another Violin Sonata in F major dating from around 1850–1851 after the second movement. These juvenile works remained unpublished until 2021.[1]
In August 1885, Saint-Saëns wrote to his publisher Durand that he intended to compose a "grand duo for piano and violin" in time for a planned tour of England. By 13 October, the sonata was completed, and he received a considerable fee of 1,200 francs.[2] It was premiered four days later in Huddersfield by the composer and Otto Peiniger and repeated in Leeds and London.[a]
The work was dedicated to Martin Pierre Marsick, a violinist and professor at the Paris Conservatoire, to commemorate their tour of Switzerland. The first performance in Paris was given by Saint-Saëns and Marsick on 9 January 1886 at the chamber music society La Trompette, which Saint-Saëns frequented.
Structure
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| Performed by Renaud Capuçon and Bertrand Chamayou | |
 Ia. Allegro agitato | |
| Ib. Adagio | |
| IIa. Allegretto moderato | |
| IIb. Allegro molto |
The sonata consists of four movements in two sections; the first and second as well as the third and forth movements are joined together (attacca).[3] Saint-Saëns had used this form – a fast opening movement leading into a slow movement, followed by a scherzo and a finale – in his fourth piano concerto before, and would use it again in his third symphony.[2]
- Allegro agitato
- The opening movement is held in sonata form. The time signature of the first theme alternates between 6
8 and 9
8, giving it a sense of urgency.[4]
- The second theme is more simple and straightforward, but seems to be in a four-beat time signature, despite being marked in 6
8. It is briefly developed in the piano in 2
4 time, before the 6
8 signature returns with the main theme in the dominant.[4]
- The opening movement is held in sonata form. The time signature of the first theme alternates between 6
- Adagio
- The oscillation between the time signatures continues in the three-part Adagio (3
4). For instance, the middle section presents a four-beat rhythm rather than a three-beat rhythm.[4]
- The oscillation between the time signatures continues in the three-part Adagio (3
- Allegretto moderato
- The Allegretto moderato is a lively scherzo, in which the 3
8 time signature is clearly emphasized.[4]
- The melody of the B section draws from the second theme of the first movement.[4]
- The Allegretto moderato is a lively scherzo, in which the 3
- Allegro molto
- The Allegro molto (
) is held in the style of a perpetuum mobile, repeatedly interrupted, first by a new theme, then by the second theme of the first movement.[4]
- The Allegro molto (
The playing time of the sonata is around 21 minutes.[4]
