String instruments > Violin and Piano
Robert Schumann
Violin Sonata no. 2 in d minor op. 121
編集者: Ernst Herttrich
指使いバイオリン: Antje Weithaas
指使いピアノパート: Klaus Schilde
24.50 €
Urtext Edition, paperbound
with marked and unmarked string parts
ページ: 96 (VI, 58, 16, 16), 大きさ 23,5 x 31,0 cm
注文番号 HN 1098 · ISMN M-2018-1098-0
難易度 (Violin): 難しい (等級 7)
Schumann’s second violin sonata was written in October/November 1851, only a few weeks after the first work for this combination of instruments (HN 428). The highly virtuosic sonata, especially in the finale, is characterised by the close thematic dovetailing of the single movements. Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski, who later became the composer’s biographer, reported that “smiling in his kind-hearted manner” the composer had said to him: “I did not like the first violin sonata; so I then wrote a second one, which is hopefully better.” Schumann was apparently referring to the great differences in the expressive content: Whereas the first sonata with three movements seems rather melancholy and dark overall, the second “Great Sonata” with four movements is bursting with energy and ends in vibrant D major.
The levels of difficulty of the
music for violin published by G. Henle Publishers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| やさしい | 中くらい | 難しい | ||||||
The levels of difficulty of the violin music published by G. Henle Publishers
| Level | Degree | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | easy | Beethoven, 6 German Dances WoO 42 |
| 2 | Beethoven, Rondo G major WoO 41 |
|
| 3 | Mozart, Violin Sonata F major KV 547 |
|
| 4 | medium | Haydn, Violin Concerto A major Hob. VIIa:3 |
| 5 | Bach, Violin Concerto a minor BWV 1041 |
|
| 6 | Brahms, Violin Sonata G major op. 78 |
|
| 7 | difficult | Paganini, No. 9 from Capricci op. 1 |
| 8 | Beethoven, Violin Concerto D major op. 61 |
|
| 9 | Berg, Violin Concerto |
I have assigned all of the violin music in G. Henle Publishers' catalogue a level of difficulty, ranging from "very easy" to "very difficult". The model for this was the evaluation system with nine levels developed for Henle's piano catalogue by Rolf Koenen. Unlike the works for solo piano, I have decided against evaluations that lie between two levels (e.g. 4/5 or 7/8).
This kind of attempt will always be "relative" to some degree. While the work remains the work, what is relative is the technical and musical ability of the player. Let us take a look at Mozart, for example, from the perspective of an Arthur Grumiaux and from that of a very young pupil. It is clear to whom my levels of difficulty are addressed: to the pupils or their teacher. I have, of course, always endeavoured to objectively assess the purely technical level of difficulty. But everything "between the lines" is, of course, left up to the judgement of each individual musician. Depending on our abilities, we perceive the "difficulty" of a work for violin differently, yet with the same conviction.
At the start, categorizing violin literature into levels of difficulty from 1 to 9 seemed to carry a certain risk as well as being unknown territory, yet I have now gained a deep insight into all of the works for violin in G. Henle Publishers' catalogue.
Ernst Schliephake © 2013

