Cecilia Chow

ACY 202

Report - Instrumental Recital

The recital I attended was Winnie Laws senior recital, assisted by Jeong-Eun Lee and

Edward Rothmel. Violin Sonata No. 3, Op 108 was played first, followed by Partita for Violin

Solo by Vytautas Barkauskas, Violin Sonata No. 2 by Ravel and Introduction et Tarantelle,

Op.43 by Sarasate. Some of the general impressions I had about the recital was that I thought it

was a very strong recital featuring works of the late romantic to modern period. Also, a big part

of this repertoire was collaborative work between the violin and piano, with the Barkauskas

Partita being the only exception.

I found the collaboration between both parts in the Brahms sonata to be especially

interesting. As a piece of violin sonata, both the piano and violin play equally important roles in

the sonata. My initial impression was that the piano perhaps carried even more responsibility

than the violinist in this occasion. One of the major challenges faced by Edward in the first

movement (Allegro) was that as the piano part featured thick chords and thick textures just like a

typical piece, it sometimes appeared to be overpowering piano in this case should not treat it as

though he is playing a solo Brahms. The piano overpowers the sound of the violin even more

easily when the violin is playing on a higher register and the piano on the lower notes such as in

the beginning of Allegro. This may also be helped with the lid being half up instead of fully up

and perhaps a minimal use of soft pedal.

 Another aspect I found interesting was when the violin tried to show off those soft and

high notes with a beautiful tone, nearly like the sound of harmonics. It made me wonder what

Edward could have perhaps done to further enhance these sounds.

The second movement, Adagio made me realize that it takes time for the violinist to do

chord separations on the diminished chords. The pianist should aim to make a bigger deal out of

it, especially when it takes time for violinists to get there to the second part of the chord.

In third movement - Un poco presto e con sentimento, balance was better here. However,

the expression con sentimento means with feeling. I felt like while the syncopated rhythms were

executed with thought and synchronization, there could have an extra effort from the piano part

to maintain the same passion when the violin does the same section but instead of pizzicato.

Perhaps the piano could have played softer with a soft pedal and less damper pedal to imitate the

sound of that pizzicato. That way, we can also hear the pitches of the violin better.

In the Ravel Sonata, the balance and ensemble were both done very well. I think that it

was easier for Jeong-Eun to control as the piano is thinner in texture and mostly one handed with

occasional sections filled with dyads. I really admired Jeong-Euns good use of pedal to enhance

the moisture of the single line melodies on the right hand. It wasnt overpowering which was

good. The second movement of the Ravel sonata was very special in that it was a blues. The

blues was mostly in the piano part. Another significant aspect of this movement is that the violin

often holds pedal points whilst the there is a blues solo on the piano. In this case, I think both

parts did extremely well to blend the two individual lines together, despite having different

syncopated beats. The third movement - perpetuum mobile, means perpetual motion. I think both
parts kept the momentum going really well. There were also a lot of countermelodies in the

piano part that were brought out really well.

In the Tarantelle by Sarasate, I think that keeping up with the constantly changing tempos

were the biggest challenge for the pianist. I felt like the violin especially wanted to push the

speed up a notch in the last section. Perhaps there could have been more eye contact and cues

from the violinist. However, the speeding up could have been improvised or as a result of nerves.

Nonetheless, it sounded in context and helped enhance the virtuosity of the violin solos.

Articulation was another interesting point of interpretation in this piece. In my opinion, the

staccatos or detached chords could have been more jumpy and playful to match the jumpiness in

the violin part. With much of the piano part being chordal, the pianist faces the challenge of

shaping his part. He could think less vertically instead more horizontal especially to match the

contours of the violin line.