Violin exam ATCL recital next wednesday. And I'm having a headache today.
Really not in the mood to practise, but yet I don't wanna fail again...

Best of luck to me, here's the programme notes. All comments welcome! :D


Praeludium and Allegro
by Fritz Kreisler


Fritz Kreisler (1875 – 1962) was an Austria-born American violinist and composer. Apart form being a brilliant violinist, he was also known for his many stylish and charming compositions based on Baroque and Classical pieces. Preludium and Allegro, composed in 1905, is such an example. Originally published as a work based on that of Baroque composer Gaetano Pugnani, it was later revealed to be an original composition by Kreisler himself. Consisting of three sections, the Praeludium opens with a grand theme well articulated by decisive, accented bow strokes on the violin. This develops into a climax and is followed by an Andante section in a declamatory style. The expression strains here soon give way to a subdued return of the grand theme. The Allegro consists of five main sections of which the first, third and fifth are similar. These begin with a dance-like theme and followed by sequential writing typical of the Baroque period. The second and fourth section both highlight the violin over a piano peddle point. The fourth is like a mini cadenza building up to a n exciting climax and leading to an emphatic conclusion.



Suite for Violin and Piano Op. 6
IV. Lullaby Lento tranquillo
by Benjamin Britten



Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976) was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist and a talented musician. Suite for Violin and Piano Op. 6 was completed in 1935 and contains five movements entitled Introduction, March, Motto Perpetuo, Lullaby and Waltz. Lullaby, as the name suggests, is a tender and lyrical piece but set in a dissonant and chromatic tone typical of the twentieth century. Though a short piece, it displays a wide range of technical as well as musical devices. The piano sets the gentle mood at the beginning of the Lullaby. The violin enters with the melody which quickly builds up to a climax. The second section is rather agitated, with the violin exploring its high register, at times giving a rhapsodic and dreamy sensation. The third section reverses the role of the two instruments, with the piano providing the main melodic and harmonic interest here. The opening melody returns towards the end of the music and the piece draws to a quiet close.



Sonata for Violin and Piano in B flat Major K378 (317d)
by W. A. Mozart

I. Allegro moderato
II. Andantino sostenuto e cantabile
III. Rondeau Allegro



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) was born in Salzburg to a musical family, displaying prodigious abilities at a young age. Mozart’s early violin sonatas were more like piano sonatas with the violin as accompaniment. The Sonata in B flat Major, written in 1779, shows a more equal partnership of the two though the theme is still more often than not given to the piano ahead of the violin. As typical three movement work, this sonata radiates elegance and charm, typical of Mozart’s compositions. The sonata form first movement opens with the piano introducing a cheerful theme followed in turn by the violin. The second theme, in the dominant key, is more pensive and marked by dotted rhythm. A stormy development section takes the music through the keys of G, D, C and F minor in a series of bold exchanges. The music resumes the tonic key of B flat major and systematically presents the main theme of the opening section before arriving at a cadential flourish. The Andantino is a serene and expressive movement that once again opens with a piano theme lightly supported by the violin. This Arioso-like movement marked cantabile is written in the subdominant key. The main theme is highly ornamented with beautiful arched phrases. As if to make up for the subsidiary role the violin is subjected to here, Mozart devotes the next section to the violin, giving it a new theme of much grace and character. Furthermore, the reappearance of the cantabile theme is also made first by the violin and then the piano. The third movement Rondeau begins with a light-hearted and witty Rondo theme, which recurs in two more instances later in the music. Each of these is preceded by an episode of contrasted material. The first episode, set in the minor mode is somber. The second episode contains an energetic, repeated note figure which drives the music to an abrupt pause. A dotted rhythm leads back to the playful Rondo theme, this time set in counterpoint between the piano and the violin, finishing off in an exuberant fashion.



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