Scan 59
Violin master works and their interpretation, 1925
10 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1George Friederich Handel's (1685-1759) "Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano"* represent a contribution to violin literature which, though their composer's main achievement lay in other fields, is still an integral part of the violin concert repertoire and one cherished by its greatest exponents at the present day.
3Among these "Six Sonatas" I have chosen for consideration the three which are best-known and which most frequently appear on the recital programme. No. 1, in A major; No. 4, in D major; and No. 6, in E major. The Handel sonatas are planned on the same model. They consist of four movements varying in length; two slow movements (first and third) and two rapid, Allegro movements (second and fourth). In these Handel compositions, as in all the compositions of his day until the advent of Beethoven, who blazed new trails in musical composition, the Andante is equivalent to the contemporary Adagio, and its quarter-notes always should be divided into eighths, in order that the movement may preserve its proper character.
5This applies in particular to the first movement of the Sonata in A major (No. 1). The second movement (Allegro), with its energetic fugal themes, if it is to be properly interpreted, must be played strictly in time, and with exact observance of all accents and dynamic signs wherever indicated. Beginning at letter F, the tempo broadens out until the end of the movement is reached. The third movement, Adagio—in spite of the repetition prescribed—is too short, and is practically no more than an introduction for the last movement, Allegro, with respect to its tempo and rhythm a species of Gigue. The student should be careful to stress the sudden changes from forte to piano, changes which are entirely unprepared; that is, unprovided with a diminuendo from the forte to the piano and, vice versa, a crescendo from the piano to the forte.
7The first movement of the Sonata in D major (No. 4) has been planned on broader lines than those of the corresponding movement of its companion in A major. It is marked Adagio,
9* G. F. Handel. "Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano." Revised and edited by Leopold Auer. Carl Fischer, Inc., New York.
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