The Violin Sonatina in E major, Op. 80, is a three-movementduo for violin and piano[2] written in 1915 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The main theme of the third movement was originally intended for the Sixth Symphony (Op. 104).[3]
History
A 6 December 1915 advertisement promoting the premiere of Sibelius's Violin Sonatina
The Violin Sonatina received its premiere in Helsinki, Finland on 6 December 1915, on occasion of the semi-centennial of Sibelius's birth (during which there were many concerts celebrating the composer); the soloists were the Polish-American violinist Richard Burgin and the Finnish pianist Eino Lindholm [fi]. Also on the program was the String Quartet in B-flat major (Op. 4, 1890), the suite for solo piano Kyllikki (Op. 41, 1904), and the String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae (Op. 56, 1909).[1]
Structure and music
The Violin Sonatina is in three movements, as follows:
The first movement begins in 4 4time before switching to 2 2 for the Allegro. It has a duration of about 3.75 minutes.[4]
Movement II
The second movement is in 6 4 time and has a duration of about 4.5 minutes.[4]
Movement III
The third movement begins 4 4 time before switching to 2 4 at the Allegretto. It has a duration of about four minutes.[4]
Discography
The American violinist Diana Steiner and the pianist David Berfield made the world premiere studio recording of the Violin Sonatina in 1977 for Orion.[1] The sortable table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
^Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-11159-0.
Dahlström, Fabian[in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN3-7651-0333-0.
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