This programme sets the violin and cello against each other without subterfuge or artifice. It starkly exposes the essential characteristics of these age-old instruments. We journey back to the early 20th century to revisit the restless spirits of Maurice Ravel and Zoltán Kodály.
The first movement of Ravel’s Sonata was composed in 1920, commissioned by La Revue Musicale as a tribute to Debussy, who had died in 1918. The remaining movements were built on cyclical transformations of the initial themes. Kodály, in turn, composed this duo at the outset of the First World War, at the height of his interest in Hungarian folk music.
Beyond this last point, these are two works that converge in several aspects: non-tonal harmonies, pronounced technical demands on the performers, expressive depth, and a distinctive combination of strength and fragility.
Ravel & Kodály
Solistas da Metropolitana
M. Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello
Z. Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello
Alexêi Tolpygo violin
Nuno Abreu cello
