Duo Op.7 for Violin and ‘Cello (1914)
Allegro Serioso non troppo
Adagio
Maestoso e largamente, ma non troppo – Presto
Zoltán Kodály wrote his Duo for Violin and ‘Cello in the summer of 1914. It is a full-scale instrumental sonata in the tradition of Schubert’s Grand Duo and Bach’s 2-Part Inventions, and in the spirit of Kodály’s beloved Hungarian and Gypsy folk-music. The opening Allegro serioso makes much play with canon and shifting rhythmic patterns, while the Adagio is an expressive two-part fugue. The finale opens with declamatory ‘cello writing evoking Kodály’s masterly Op.8 Solo ‘Cello Sonata, followed by a vigorous, Gypsy-like presto. The work did not receive its première until May 1918, when it was given by Waldbauer and Kerpely, the Budapest-based virtuosi whose string quartet had given the premières of Bartók and Kodály’s first quartets.
R.G. Bratby, 1999
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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