Elgar - Violin Sonata

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In 1857 on the 2nd of June, the composer Edward Elgar was born in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire. Listen to Elgar's beautiful violin sonata recorded by Maxim Vengerov and Revital Chachamov:



Composer of the Month: Sir Edward Elgar
(Edward Elgar born June 2, 1857, Broadheath, Worcestershire —died February 23, 1934, Worcester, Worcestershire)

The Sonata for Violin and Piano was one of three chamber works that Elgar composed towards the end of the First World War at Brinkwells - the beautiful country cottage the Elgars had rented in Sussex. By 1918 Elgar was in poor health and deeply disturbed by the events of the Great War and this sonata falls into his last major creative period. Elgar was himself a competent player of both the violin and the piano and the work was completed quickly – in little over a month.

He dedicated the work to a dear family friend, Marie Joshua and wrote in a letter to her during its composition

“I fear it does not carry us any further but it is full of golden sounds and I like it, but you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist...” - Edward Elgar

Sadly, Marie Joshua died just days after receiving the letter, leaving little time for her to reply. Elgar quoted the melancholic, but sweet theme from the slow movement just before the end of the piece as a tribute to her memory.


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