Sonata in D minor Op. 9 for Violin and Piano

Karol Szymanowski
Sonata in D minor Op. 9 for Violin and Piano
from ”Karol Szymanowski – Works” ed. by T. Chylińska,
GA/CE B9 prepared by B. Konarska
Publisher: PWM Edition

Sonata in D minor is Szymanowski’s earliest violin work and was written in 1904. In its conventional character one clearly feels the dependence on the violin sonatas of Franck ahd Brahms and the composer’s desire to master the traditional, three-movement cyclic form. Sonata for violin and piano, a juvenile work, in spite of the fact that its style is still not crystallised, betrays the composer’s growing interest in tone colour and foreshadows the bold and rich melodic line characteristic of Szymanowski’s later works.

Series: Szymanowski, Works Separate Editions
Number of pages: 32
Cover: softcover
No. of edition: 2
Type: solo part (instrumental) + accompaniment
Size: B4 vertical (244×340 mm)

The piece was first performed in Warsaw by two outstanding musicians, violinist Paweł Kochański and pianist Artur Rubinstein, on 3rd April 1909.

Szymanowski composed Sonata in D minor Op. 9 in 1904, dedicating it to Bronisław Gromadzki, amateur violinist and Elisavetgrad school mate. The piece was first performed in Warsaw by two outstanding musicians, violinist Paweł Kochański and pianist Artur Rubinstein, on 3rd April 1909.

Although a juvenile work, Sonata in D minor already manifests Szymanowski’s individuality, especially his melodic creativity and sensitivity to sound. The three-movement work opens with the expressive Allegro moderato. Patetico and closes with an equally powerful Allegro molto, quasi presto. At its heart, however, is the lyrical, subtly coloured Andante tranquillo e dolce, of which Tadeusz A. Zieliński wrote:
“as such it must be the greatest instrumental work of Szymanowski’s early period. Only [its] unfamiliarity to musicians accounts for the fact that this wonderful ‘poem’ in A major did not become a famous and favourite item in violinists’ repertoires”.1
Nowadays Sonata in D minor clearly enjoys the fame and position of a favoured work for violin and piano, and has been played and recorded by the greatest violinists, including Zdzisław Jahnke, David Oistrach, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Piotr Pławner and Krzysztof Bąkowski.