Cindy Moyer and Friends: Program

                   Daniela Mineva and Cindy Moyer

Cindy Moyer, violin
with Daniela Mineva, piano;  Greg Granoff, harpsichord;  Kira Weiss, cello.

 Sonata in F Major for Violin and Continuo , HWV 370 by Georg Frederick Handel

 Adagio
 Allegro
 Largo
 Allegro

 Sonata in A Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 12, No. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven

 Allegro vivace
Andante più tosto allegretto
 Allegro piacevole

 Sonata in G Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 78 by Johannes Brahms
 Vivace non troppo
 Adagio
 Allegro molto moderato

 Sonata in D Major for Solo Violin, Op. 115  by Sergei Prokofiev 
Moderato
Theme and Variations
 Con brio

Additional Notes

Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 2

"There is no doubt that the ten Beethoven sonatas represent the most important body of work for violin and piano. Only Mozart comes close in terms of a large-scale ‘cycle’, although there are later masterpieces by Schumann, Brahms, Franck, Bartók and others. As with so many of the genres that he touched, Beethoven set the standard to which all other composes aspired for many years afterwards. For a violin and piano duo, these works are central to everything we do.

The first sonata could almost be a particularly grandiose work of Mozart, but the robust humour in the second is far more Haydnesque. One of the only times Beethoven evokes the traditional ‘roles’ of the two instruments is to cock a snook and turn them on their head in op. 12 no 2."
pianist Daniel Tong (Feb. 2014)


Brahms Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 1

 "Brahms’ three violin sonatas are all extraordinary masterpieces that occupy their own rarefied world of elegant construction, romantic sweep and exquisite beauty. The designation of “Sonata for Piano and Violin” significantly expresses the equal partnership of both instruments in this chamber music for two. While the violin often sings first and foremost, Brahms frequently switches the parts giving theme and accompaniment a deeper sounding through new sonorities and “inverted” textures. The two parts generally imitate, echo and intertwine for a balanced chamber unity with ample lyricism and virtuosity for both players.

Brahms published his first sonata for piano and violin in 1879 at the relatively advanced age of 46, though, typical of his history, it seems that he may have consigned at least three previous sonatas to the fire of unremitting self-criticism. The Sonata in G Major, Op. 78 thus emerges as an astonishing “first” sonata by any standard; it is a magical work full of graceful tenderness, nobility, bursting intensity and sacred repose with a wealth of cyclic interconnections. It is a romantic sonata in the truest sense: there are literary and musical allusions to rain throughout and the prevailing serenity often gives rise to poignant reflection and nostalgia. It is revealing to touch upon each of its movements backwards, starting with the finale."
 Kai Christiansen, Earsense

"Composed in the high summer of his creative career after the completion of the Symphony No. 1 and the Violin Concerto, Brahms' Violin Sonata in G major is a gloriously lyrical work with long-breathed melodies rather than terse themes, and expansive extrapolations rather than concise developments. It is also one of Brahms' most tightly structured and cogently argued works, with a degree of formal integration rare in his works. The dotted rhythm of the opening movement's first theme dominates the second theme of the central movement and all of the closing movement, and the second theme of the central movement returns in the central section of the closing movement.

The sonata is in three movements: Vivace ma non troppo, Adagio, and Allegro molto moderato. The opening Vivace, significantly slowed by its modifying ma non troppo, is a sweet-tempered movement in sonata form with two lyrical themes. The central Adagio is in ternary form, with a heartfelt main theme full of double and triple stops in the violin. The closing Allegro molto moderato starts with a direct quotation from the opening of Brahms' Regenlied, Op. 59/3 (Rain Song), a melancholy minor-keyed song recalling the long-lost days of youth. In the Violin Sonata, Brahms likewise starts it in the minor, but with the return of the theme of the Adagio, he returns the music to the consoling tonic major of the sonata. The work ends with a warm, sunset coda of great beauty."
 James Leonard, AllMusic

Prokofiev Sonata for Solo Violin

“It was significant that he should return, after so many years, to writing for the solo violin; seemingly unconvinced of the utter futility of formalist experimentation, he renewed his youthful striving to express genuine human emotions, choosing for this effort one of the most singing of all musical instruments.”
Israel V. Nestyev, author and biographer

"Sergei
 Prokofiev
 composed 
his 
last 
work 
for
 violin 
in
 1947, 
the
 Sonata 
for 
Solo 
or
 Unison
Violins,
Op.
115.

..

This 
work 
was 
written 
exactly 
at 
the 
point 
in 
Soviet
 history
 when
 its 
government
 launched
 official 
attacks 
on 
many
 composers 
including
 Prokofiev,
and
 was
 never
 performed
 during
 Prokofiev’s
 lifetime.

 

The 
Solo 
Sonata 
proves 
to 
be 
an
 excellent
 example 
of
 Prokofiev’s 
late compositional 
style,
which
 strove 
for 
a 
more
 direct
 and 
simple
 musical 
language.
..  Because he was a pianist, Prokofiev’s writing for the violin often imitates pianistic percussive and rhythmic qualities, yet it also exploits and highlights the lyrical, singing qualities of the violin.

 The Solo Sonata is musically charming, sonorous, and challenging, yet remains the least recorded or performed of all of Prokofiev’s violin works... The Sonata, nevertheless, offers great musical satisfaction and pedagogical value, clearly reflecting Prokofiev’s late compositional style in its form, melody and harmony. As seen in the Solo Sonata and throughout the Soviet period, melody and lyricism became the most important aspects of his music. In any scenario, the Solo Sonata is an intriguing and mysterious piece of music, musically and historically unique, and a valuable example of Prokofiev’s late compositional style for the violin."  Joanna Steinhauser, doctoral thesis.