Leoš Janáček - Sonata for violin and piano

 

The Janáček sonata is highly emotional and compelling, which given its background is not strange: the first version of the piece was written at the start of the First World War, in times of an uncertain future. Between the fear and violence, some sparks of hope appear in the music too though. The first movement is a passionate outcry, after which the second movement of the sonata, 'Balada', is a yearning folk song. The third movement is a tumultuous scherzo, after which the fourth and final movement both sketches desolation and despair, but also hope for a better future.