Cast in four movements of approximately equal length and lasting about a half-hour, this tormented Sonata for violin and piano is among Prokofiev’s finest works. The Andante opening panel begins with an ominous theme in the bass on the piano accompanied with death-rattle sounds of the violin. The mood remains tense as the violin struggles to steal center stage from the piano, finally doing so with a theme that cries out painfully. Eventually the music turns ethereal when the piano gently plays the opening theme in the upper register, while the violin delivers eerie runs that slither about hauntingly, like “wind in a graveyard,” as explained by the composer himself. The movement ends softly but chillingly.
A hard-driving Allegro brusco follows, its main theme slashing and harsh as the piano and violin exchange angry dissonances and crushing chords. An alternate theme imparts a sense of nobility and hope for a time, but cannot here or later dispel the sense of fear and frenzy brought on by the dominant main material.
The third movement (Andante) opens with an ethereal, dreamy theme floating amid a sense of fantasy. An alternate theme, largely built on three notes that repeat obsessively, imparts a feeling of desolation, and the whole movement gradually turns darker, sounding bleak and fearful at the end.
The finale, marked Allegrissimo, opens with a bustling theme that seems cheerful and almost playful, but its brightness soon appears threatened by dark undercurrents and, as tension accrues from stomping bass chords from the piano, it collapses. The ending of the first movement is recalled, and the music then turns bleaker and, finally, despairing. This exceedingly profound work will yield immeasurable rewards for patient listeners.
0:00 – Andante assai
8:11 – Allegro brusco
15:09 – Andante
23:40 – Allegrissimo