Sonata for Solo Violin (Prokofiev)

Sonata for Solo Violin
Sonata for Solo Violin
by Sergei Prokofiev
	Prokofiev c. 1918
Key	D major
Opus	115
Genre	Sonata
Style	Neoclassical
Composed	1947
Published	1952
Movements	Three
Scoring	Unaccompanied violin or violins (in unison)

The Sonata for Solo Violin (or Sonata for Unaccompanied Violins in Unison) in D major, Opus 115, is a three-movement work for unaccompanied violin composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1947. It was commissioned by the Soviet Union's Committee of Arts Affairs as a pedagogical work for talented violin students.^[1] It is therefore a non-virtuosic piece, and was originally designed to be played not by one soloist but by multiple young performers in unison.^[2] It was not performed until 10 July 1959 - six years after Prokofiev's death - by Ruggiero Ricci at the Moscow Conservatory.^[1]

Structure and Analysis

The three movements of the sonata are as follows:

Moderato
Andante dolce. Tema con variazioni
Con brio. Allegro precipitato

The work is composed in Classical style and its melodies are largely diatonic. The first movement is in sonata form, the second movement is a theme with five variations, and the third movement has characteristics of a mazurka.^[2]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Morrison, Simon (2010). The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 283–284. ISBN 978-0199753482.
^ ^a ^b Nestyev, Israel V. (1960). Prokofiev. Stanford University Press. pp. 397-398. ISBN 0804705852.

External links

Sonata for Solo Violin, Op.115: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[Morrison-1] Morrison, Simon (2010). The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 283–284. ISBN 978-0199753482.

[Nestyev-2] Nestyev, Israel V. (1960). Prokofiev. Stanford University Press. pp. 397-398. ISBN 0804705852.

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