Violin Sonata No. 2 (Schumann)
The Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 121, by Robert Schumann was completed in November 1851,[1] Dedicated to the violinist Ferdinand David, the sonata received its first public performance from Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim on 29 October 1853 in Düsseldorf, in a concert that marked the beginning of a long term musical collaboration.
| Violin Sonata | |
|---|---|
| No. 2 | |
| by Robert Schumann | |
 Schumann c. 1850 | |
| Key | D minor |
| Opus | 121 |
| Composed | November 1851 |
| Dedication | Ferdinand David |
| Performed | 29 October 1851: Düsseldorf |
| Movements | 4 |
The work is in four movements:
- Ziemlich langsam - lebhaft
- Sehr lebhaft
- Leise, einfach
- Bewegt
The first movement begins with a stately sequence of chords, the contour of which is then used for the first subject proper. The fourth bar of this theme contains a distinctive syncopated rhythm that plays a role in the link to the second subject, and is also used extensively in the development.[2] The vigorously driving second movement in B minor (♯vi in relation to the home key) is of the scherzo genre, and appears to have influenced the young Johannes Brahms, particularly in the C minor scherzo he wrote for the F-A-E Sonata. Near the end of this movement, the chorale melody "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" is quoted triumphantly in the major. The relatively serene G major third movement is a set of variations, opening with a passage of violin pizzicato triple-stops, mirroring the chordal introduction of the first movement. The finale returns to the key and mood of the beginning, with a long and dramatic trajectory toward an exuberant conclusion in the major.
References
- Daverio, John. Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age" (Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 460.
- Perry, Beate, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Schumann (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2007), p. 138
External links
- Violin Sonata No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project