Violin Sonata No. 2 (Ravel)

Maurice Ravel's sonata for violin and piano is a sonata composed from 1923 to 1927. Ravel was inspired by the music of America, namely jazz and blues.^[1]

When the composer was living in Montfort-l'Amaury, France, he accompanied Helen Jourdan-Morhange and they shared a love for jazz. The classic blues band of W.C. Handy exhibited the style of St. Louis blues in Paris from 1923 to 1927. Ravel was inspired by the style of music and dance,^[2] and jazz elements can also be found in the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand and other works.

Movements

The violin sonata consists of three movements:

• Allegretto (G major)
• Blues. Moderato (A-flat major)
• Perpetuum mobile. Allegro (G major)

References

1. Kelly L, Barbara. Maurice Ravel: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd edition Volume 20. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 2001 p. 868
2. Stuckenschmidt, H.H. Maurice Ravel: Variation on His Life and Work. Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1968, p. 192

External links

• Violin Sonata No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Performance of Violin Sonata No. 2 by Nicola Benedetti (violin) and Julien Quentin (piano) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format