The violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms are played less often than many of his other chamber pieces, and that by Richard Strauss is still less common. This little survey of further extensions of the Germanic violin sonata, then, qualifies as a genuine oddity. The 11-minute Violin Sonata in E minor of Paul Hindemith, which pointed the way toward the revival of tonal chamber music in more concise forms in the academy after World War II, is the only work here that qualifies as at all familiar. Two of the other three composers ...
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The violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms are played less often than many of his other chamber pieces, and that by Richard Strauss is still less common. This little survey of further extensions of the Germanic violin sonata, then, qualifies as a genuine oddity. The 11-minute Violin Sonata in E minor of Paul Hindemith, which pointed the way toward the revival of tonal chamber music in more concise forms in the academy after World War II, is the only work here that qualifies as at all familiar. Two of the other three composers (Reger died in time) had Nazi associations, but also some defenses against the charge. Their compositions here are luxuriant if you like them and unpleasantly gigantist if you don't. The most extreme is the First Sonata for Violin and Piano in D minor of Wilhelm Furtwängler; he is better known as a conductor and even was a strong candidate to succeed Arturo Toscanini at the helm of the New York Philharmonic. He composed a good deal of music, however, and it is slowly coming to light...
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