Violin Sonata

As Russia threatened an invasion of Janáček’s native Moravia in 1914, a vision of sharp steel flashed through the composer’s mind as he imagined liberty from the region’s Hapsburg rulers. The result was his Violin Sonata, a work in four movements lasting around 17 minutes. Some hear in the opening movement’s soaring violin line and rumbling piano accompaniment a clear reflection of his half-excited, half-anxious reaction to impending military conflict. Janáček himself associated the high piano tremolandos at the Sonata’s conclusion with the Russian army entering Hungary. But the brightly rippling piano and singing violin excursions of the second movement, “Ballada”, step away from belligerent gestures. Signs of dislocation resurface in the third movement, “Allegretto”, as lively dance rhythms threaten to crack open. The finale’s efforts to find a lasting stability are repeatedly undermined by agitated violin interjections—perhaps the sound of Russian gunfire in the distance.