Brahms's violin sonatas : style, structure, performance / Joel Lester.
| Author/creator |
Lester, Joel author. |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020. |
| Description | xviii, 371 pages : illustrations, music ; 25 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | Introduction: Brahms, musical scores, musical expression, musical meaning -- A note about the organization of this book -- Brahms's notes. It sounds like Brahms ; Classicism and romanticism in Brahms's music ; Looking backward and forward: the second theme of the first movement in Brahms's A-major violin sontata ; Brahms's scores and performance styles -- Shaping Brahmsian themes. The opening of the A-major sonata ; The G-major sonata begins ; An opening theme's potential: the finale of the A-major sonata ; Building a texture: the opening of the D-minor sonata ; Varied returns: two further instances -- Brahms's musical narratives. First-movement sonata forms. The vivace ma non troppo of the G-major sonata ; The allegro amabile of the A-major sonata ; The allegro of the D-minor sonata -- The middle movements. The adagio of the G-major sonata ; The andante tranquillo and vivace of the A-major sonata ; The adagio of the D-minor sonata ; The un poco presto e con sentimento of the D-minor sonata -- The finales. The allegro molto moderator of the G-major sonata; The allegretto grazioso (quasi andante) of the A-major sonata ; The presto agitato of the D-minor sonata -- Brahms and the violin. The early violin sonatas ; The scherzo from the "F-A-E" sonata: a glimpse of Brahms's early violin-sonata style ; The sonatensatz and the later violin sonatas. |
| Abstract | This book is a companion volume to the author's award-winning 1999 study Bach's Works for Solo Violin: Style, Structure, and Performance. Using a minimum of technical language and with annotated musical examples illustrating almost every point, Brahms's Violin Sonatas explores three masterpieces of the concert repertoire in a book designed for performers and music scholars alike. A major focus is how much can be learned by carefully reading Brahms's artistically nuanced musical notation, and by understanding Brahms's style-especially his music's deep connections to Classical-Era harmony, phrasing, and form while at the same time using late-19th-century harmonies, dissonances, and thematic evolutions, along with the contrapuntal textures that imbues all his works with a uniquely "Brahmsian" sound. The author also explores how these works relate to important events in Brahms's life. Practical and concrete suggestions on performance arise from many of these discussions, calling performers' and analysts' attention to both technical and interpretive matters. The author's aim is to inspire readers to explore their own individual approaches to Brahms's music, balancing what they find in the music to how they balance today's performance and interpretive styles with the ways that Brahms himself and his contemporaries might have played and experienced his creations. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-365) and index. |
| LCCN | 2020008001 |
| ISBN | 9780190087036 hardcover |
| ISBN | 019008703X hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780190087074 paperback |
| ISBN | 0190087072 paperback |
| ISBN | electronic publication |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Music | Music Stacks | ML410.B8 L47 2020 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |