Sonata for Solo Violin

The Sonata for Solo Violin was the last work Bartók fully completed before his untimely death in New York in 1945. Composed in a remarkably short period of time, between February and March 1944, it was commissioned and premiered in the same year by Yehudi Menuhin who had been a staunch advocate of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Menuhin’s initial reaction to the score had been hardly positive, and he feared that its immense technical difficulties would make the work unplayable. However, after a concentrated bout of practice, he changed his mind and declared the Sonata to be one of the greatest ever written for the instrument. Bartók modelled his work on J.S. Bach’s Sonata for unaccompanied violin in C major BWV 1005, its four movements following a similar emotional trajectory from darkness to light. The wild jagged rhythms and aggressive double stops of the opening “Tempo di ciaccona” are followed by an equally powerful and defiant “Fuga.” More lyrical and nostalgic writing is explored in the ensuing slow movement, “Melodia,” before the whirlwind final “Presto,” which is characterized by a veritable torrent of breathtakingly fast notes.