This program contrasts the violin and cello without subterfuge or artifice. It starkly exposes the essential characteristics of these secular instruments. Let us go back to the beginning of the 20th century to revisit the restless spirits of Maurice Ravel and Zoltán Kodály. The first movement of Ravel’s Sonata was composed in 1920 on commission from the publication La Revue Musicale, in order to pay tribute to Debussy, who died in 1918. The remaining movements were built on cyclical transformations of the initial themes. Kodály, in turn, composed this duo at the beginning of the First World War, at the height of his interest in traditional Hungarian music. Beyond this last aspect, these are two works that converge in aspects such as non-tonal harmonies, the accentuated technical difficulties for the performers, the expressive depth, and the peculiar combination of strength and fragility.
Sons pela Cidade | Ravel & Kodály
Solistas da Metropolitana
M. Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello
Z. Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello
Alexei Tolpygo violin
Nuno Abreu cello
