2me Polonaise brillante pour violon avec acompagnement de piano op.21 Henryk Wieniawski wrote only two polonaises. The first one, op. 4 in D minor, is one of his youthful works; the other, op. 21 in A major, is one of the last works he composed. Moreover, H. Wieniawski is the co-author of another polonaise, op. 8, for violin and piano, which he wrote with his brother Józef Wieniawski, a pianist. The latter polonaise, like the Polonaise in D minor op. 4, is also a youthful composition (1852). The polonaise as a genre, therefore, does not occupy much space in Wieniawskis heritage. Nonetheless, both polonaises, in D minor and A major, constitute an essential part of his artistic inheritance. Likewise, both polonaises had been composed in two versions: for violin and orchestra, and for violin and piano. The Polonaise in A major was completed in 1870. It is not known precisely which of the versions, the one with the piano, or the one with the orchestra first came into being. It was the version with orchestra that the composer performed for the first time on 17 March 1870, in the Grand Theatre in St. Petersburg. But merely two months later he performed the Polonaise in Warsaw, accompanied by his brother Józef at the piano. It is quite possible that Wieniawski had already performed this version of the Polonaise. It is certain, nonetheless, that both versions either appeared simultaneously, or one was composed shortly after the other. From its first public performance until the end of his concert career, Wieniawski often included this Polonaise in his concert repertoire, playing one version or another, the choice depending on the needs and circumstances. Just to mention one occasion, he played the orchestral version during a concert tour of Sweden in 1870, when he dedicated and presented a manuscript of this piece to King Charles XV of Sweden. The dedication, however, was changed in print, and both versions were eventually dedicated to François van Hal. Both versions were published simultaneously, by Schott Publishers in Mainz, with the same plate number, though the orchestral version appeared only in parts, which was a common practice in those days. The piece was most probably not published earlier than 18751. The Polonaise was praised by the critics. The reviews reported that it was a magnificent piece2, and this opinion was shared by later critical reviews, both Russian and West European. The Polonaise remained popular after the composer had died, which is evident from the number of later editions of the piece (more than ten) issued by different publishers, mostly German, and prepared by different editors. In Poland, the Polonaise was published twice after the Second World War. All the editions introduced some more or less significant changes into the text, mostly concerning performance indications, but in a sense blurring the composers intentions. All those changes were pertinent to the violin and piano version, and it was mostly in this form that the piece appeared in concert and teaching repertoires. The performances with an orchestra were much more seldom which was, among other factors, due to limited availability of the orchestral version, as it had never been published again after the first edition, until now. The Polonaise in A major was composed approximately at the same time as the Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor3. This convergence in time had influenced a certain similarity with regard to both composition and technical means, and also to the themes. In particular, the similarity becomes quite obvious in the second theme of the Allegro in the Concerto, and in the theme of the Polonaise. The Polonaise in A major is also in a certain way similar to the first Polonaise (in D minor), the motifs of the themes in both polonaises are alike. However, both pieces differ in style. The Polonaise in D minor shows the composers fascination with technical writing. Wieniawski makes the most of double-stops, chords, and all other sophisticated virtuoso techniques. The Polonaise in A major, written 18 years later, is much more mature. Although it is a virtuosic piece as well, the techniques used are somewhat more limited and subordinated to the expression. The virtuoso character of this piece is more fragile, much closer to the brillant style. At the same time, the Polonaise is typical of Wieniawskis violin playing technique. Here the composer uses the means regarded by his contemporaries to be typical of him, e.g., long staccato fragments played with one bow. The Polonaise is a concert piece in one movement extended form with a considerably abbreviated return of the first section at the end. The middle section is contrasting in character, due to the modulation to F major, change of tempo (meno mosso) and the reduction in the number of instruments (in the orchestral version). All the sections show thematic similarity. The first section, too, consists of three subsections, including a contrasting middle subsection (in E major). Zofia Chechlińska Footnotes 1. See The Critical Commentary, p. ? and onward. 2. See V. Grigoriev, Henryk Wieniawski. Życie i twórczość. [Life and Work] Warszawa - Poznań 1986, p. 184. 3. The first version of the Concerto No. 2 in D minor was completed in 1862, but in 1870, i.e., not until the Polonaise in A major was completed, Wieniawski had been working on the Concerto and implemented quite a few changes. Publisher: PWM/Towarzystwo Muzyczne im. Henryka Wieniawskiego w Poznaniu Series: Henryk Wieniawski - Complete Works Cover: softback Nr ISMN: 979-0-2740-0753-9 Number of pages: 34+8 Format: N4 stoj. 235x305 Language version of text: pol., Eng.

Grade 3-4-A series available as violin duets or violin & piano.Whether a student or a great artist the desire to make a beautiful sound is a constant in the life of any musician. Sound is the musician's voice the means of communicating an artistic vision to the audience and it should be the aim for children of any age or standard to be engaged in good tone production.The inspiration for writing these pieces came to me from the wish to give the young children I teach music which would develop their ear for both good intonation and beautiful tone production. All the pieces have a strongly implied harmonic structure allowing them to be played without accompaniment. Thepurpose of the second violin part is therefore to enable the teacher to underline the harmony as well as to influence the student's tone production and intonation through his own sound as much can be taught by good example. This music is also available for violin and piano with piano accompaniments written by Heidi Rolfe.Finally I think that children enjoy the challenge of expressing different moods and emotions musically and I hope that the range of ideas implied by the keys and the titles of these pieces will fire their imagination.Nigel Goldberg.

Par ADOLPHE BRUCE. This work was commissioned by violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv to celebrate and commemorate the life of her namesake, Solomiya Krushelnytska. A Ukranian soprano, Krushelnyts (1872-1952) left home at the age of 21 to study voice in Italy, where she became a very successful opera performer and close friends with Puccini. She is often credited with saving Madama Butterfly from obscurity by taking on the role after a failed premiere with a different cast. Visiting her family one summer, she was suddently trapped as Ukraine was absorbed by the Soviet Union and all borders were closed. Realizing that she would never be able to return to Italy to resume her solo career, she joined the faculty of the Lviv Conservatory, where she raised a generation of very fine singers. She died in poverty, never being able to access her savings or property in Italy, but she contributed to the growth of the Lviv Conservatory where Solomiya Ivakhiv studied. Krushelnyts became a well-known symbol of hope for young women in Ukraine, where much of the population knows her name, and many streets are named after her. / Date parution : 2022-06-14/ Répertoire / Violon et Piano

Violin and Piano-Einstein was a violinist all his life. In the motion picture Einstein's Light filmmaker Nickolas Barris and composer Bruce Adolphe set out to communicate Einstein's dedication to the Violin and his particular love for the music of Mozart and Bach. This collection of music composed for the soundtrack is based on phrases from those two great masters that spin off into physics-inspired dreams and thoughts. It contains a poignant solo Violin piece based on music by Bach and four pieces for Violin and Piano that are based on phrases from Mozart's music. The composer includes one work in particular the Mozart Violin Sonata No. 34 notable because the only extant recording of Einsteinplaying the Violin contains the slow movement from this sonata. The soundtrack to Einstein's Light was recorded by Joshua Bell and Marija Stroke on Sony Classical Records. This edition contains bowings and fingerings by Joshua Bell. Movement Titles: 1. Einstein's Light: Theme (1:44 ) 2. Struggle and Breakthrough (4:34) 3. Einstein's Sarabande: The Loneliness of Genius (4:03) 4. Bending of Space-Time (3:03) 5. Einstein's Harmonic Mind (6:45)

Enrique Granados (1867-1916) was a Spanish composer and pianist who studied in Barcelona and Paris and whose life was tragically cut short by the First World War. The nationalist style which dominated his early output is often seen to be epitomised by the 1890 work 12 Danza Española a collection of Spanish dances originally for the solo Piano. Oriental is No. 2 from 12 Danza Española and has been transcribed here for Violin and Piano. This high quality edition comes in a marbled cover and would be a perfect gift for any violinist looking to expand their repertoire.

Lili Boulanger was the sister of the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger who taught Aaron Copland Elliott Carter and Philip Glass amongst others. She was a composer for the last 10 years of her tragically short life - she died at 25 - and her music stands in the main line of French music exemplified by Faure somewhat tinged with the influence of Debussy's Impressionism. It is generally beautiful delicately coloured and touching. These challenging 'Two Pieces for Violin and Piano' exemplify these qualities. The Nocturne begins sparsely with bare octave figures wound about with a theme built from a repetitive rise-and-fall figure. As the texture become thickerthe violin becomes more virtuosic and begins to climb. There is no harmonic resolution until the final ppp note in the top register which is answered by an low octave from the piano. The Cortege is more lively without being fast. Shifting rhythmic accents tricky runs and contrasting dynamics make this an exciting piece.

Raymond Briggs' charming Christmas story about the adventures of a boy and the snowman that comes to life is a modern children's classic. The tales popularity has been further enhanced by frequent television broadcasts of theaward-winning cartoon film The Snowman.In this suite for Violin and Piano composer Howard Blake recreated the story in music based on the scenes from the film. The music includes the hit songWalking In The Air.

The brevity of Lili Boulanger's life (1893-1918) does not obsecure its substantial achievements. With the cantata 'Faust et Helene' (1913) she became the first woman to win the Prix De Rome and several large projects including 'D'un Matin De Printemps' and its companion piece 'D'un Soir Triste' both in various scorings followed during the last five years of her life. 'D'un Matin De Printemps' is remarkable for its sharpness and vigour: Lili's textures and harmonic language place her music in the French mainstream of the period while her sensitivity to the expressive character and technical demands of the violin are in evidence throughout this striking piece. This new authoritative performing edition by musicologist and performer Neil Heyde is an invaluable addition to the French early 20th century repertory for the instrument. The edition includes a full introduction and critical commentary.

This well-known orchestral waltz takes on a new life with Simon Fischer's transcription for violin and piano.For medium-advanced violin and piano.