Sonata for Violin and Piano

Jean Huang DMA violin recital at New England Conservatory Moderato Andantino quasi Adagio Allegro Mana Tokuno (Piano), Chu Chun Jean Huang (Violin) Recorded by Zenas Hsu @ Greying Tree Productions. The first time I encountered the name Walter Piston was during my first doctoral theory seminar at New England Conservatory, where his counterpoint book appeared under “recommended course material.” Little did I know that I would be learning an actual composition by him a year later. Piston (1894-1976) bounced between visual arts and music before finally deciding to study composition at the Harvard College in 1920. He studied composition and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger and Paul Dukas in Paris, and he also studied violin with George Enescu. After returning to the United States in 1926, he taught at Harvard until his retirement in 1960. Piston is noted for his influence in the development of the Neo-classical style in 20th century in the United States. His students included Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, Harold Shapero and Irving Fine. His influential status in the 20th century was summarized by Aaron Copland: “Piston's music, if considered only from a technical viewpoint, constitutes a challenge to every other American composer...Without men like Piston, without his ease and ability in the handling of normal musical materials, we can never have a full-fledged school of composers in this country.” Piston’s Violin Sonata (1939) has three movements: Moderato, Andantino quasi Adagio, and Allegro. Upon listening, one notices that the role of piano and violin are extremely equal, and the two parts are often in canon or an imitation of some sort. The fluid melodic theme in the first movement is juxtaposed with the highly syncopated runs and the Copland-like ⅝ rhythmic figure. The restless first movement (perhaps also caused by constant meter change?) is followed by a slow, quiet and searching (or longing) theme in the second movement in 5/4: this uncertain searching theme builds upon an A-B-A form where it hits the climax in the middle and falls back down to the opening melody. The last movement starts with rigid rhythm and articulation in both parts; throughout the piece Piston favors the perfect fourth interval, and the main motive of the last movement is conducted by a perfect fourth with its neighbor notes (B♭-A♭-D♭-E♭). This motivic figure then appears throughout the movement. Based on the harmonic language and structure of the piece, I do find it difficult to categorize Walter Piston’s violin sonata under any genre or style, though I do agree that it could be seen as a hybrid of neoclassical and neo-romantic style. One is reminded of Copland and even Ives at times.