Title
Sonata for Violin and Piano
For
violin and piano
Year Composed
1942–43
ARCO Number(s)
52
Category
Chamber
Duration
17'
Premiere
  • World: New York, January 17th, 1944 (Ruth Posselt, Copland)
Dedication
To Lieutenant Harry H. Dunham
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Publishing Status
Published
Arrangements
Sonata for Violin and Orchestra (arr. Gerald Elias)
Buying Options
Boosey & Hawkes

Program Note

Composer David Diamond recalls playing the Sonata for violin and piano with the composer in Copland's New York loft at the time of the work's composition. Diamond said, "I advised him to use harmonics in the last movement." The Sonata is in the usual three movements, the last two to be played without pause. Following the premiere in 1944 for which Copland was pianist, Virgil Thomson called the Sonata "one of its author's most satisfying pieces. It has a quality at once of calm elevation and of buoyancy that is characteristic of Copland and irresistibly touching."

Author
Vivian Perlis
Year
1998