SCHUBERT'S VIOLIN AND PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Played by WINIFRED SMALL (Violin) and MAURICE COLE (Pianoforte)
Sonatina in D
Allegro molto ; Andante ; Allegro vivace
4 LTHOUGH Schubert, more than any other of A the great Masters, is known and loved by the ordinary listener, it is on quite a small number of his pieces that that popularity rests. It is possible to produce a vast number of Schubert's works which are still unknown, not merely to the casual listener, but even to those who are in the way of hearing music regularly. Almost all the Violin and Pianoforte music to be played in this week's ' Foundations of Music ' series is unknown except to violinists, but it is all so full of Schubert's melody and grace that listeners are sure to wonder why it has not more often been played.
The pieces for this week include three Sonatinas.
As the name implies, these are, or ought to be, simply Sonatas in miniature with all the traditional features of a Sonata set forth briefly. Most pianists have struggled with the most famous Sonatinas in the world, those by Clementi, admirably laid out to make the real Sonata form clear. Schubert's are not all strictly small Sonatas, though each one includes at least one movement in the conventional form. The one In D to be played this evening is more nearly a small Sonata than the others. Each of the two later ones has five movements, all short, and all bright and melodious.
Two Duets for violin and pianoforte follow the Sonatinas, in which Schubert disclaims any intention to follow out a set plan. Ho calls them simply ' Duos.'
The series includes also a number of so-called German Dances, merry little tunes in Waltz rhythm, but with a more lively movement than the languorous waltz, and on Saturday the best known of Schubert's violin and pianoforte pieces, the so-called Rondo Brilliant, which really is a brilliant piece for both instruments, will form a happy close to the week's feature.