Darius Milhaud (4 September 1892 - 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six-also known as The Group of Six-and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and Brazilian music and make extensive use of polytonality. Milhaud is considered one of the key modernist composers.
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Sonata for 2 Violins and Piano, Op. 15 (1914)
Dedication à Monsieur Armand Lunel
1. Animé (0:00)
2. Modéré (6:08)
3. Très vif (12:06)
Tedi Papavrami & Raphael Oleg, violins and Eric la Sage, piano
Description by Neil Cardew-Fanning [-]
Written while Milhaud was still a student at the Paris Conservatoire, the Sonate pour piano et deux violins was his second sonata. It very much comes out of the milieu of the turn-of-the-century French sonata. However, it is not an immature or "student" work. Though there are strong reminders of Lekeu, Magnard, and early d'Indy, Milhaud's own voice comes strongly through.
Milhaud described the sonata as his "first chamber work that I did not later repudiate." Apparently, he was not the only one pleased with it: it was awarded the 1915 Lapaulle Prize for composition by the Paris Conservatoire. Milhaud said it was the only time the he ever won an award for composition.
After being rejected for military service, Milhaud joined the Foyer Franco-Belge (The French-Belgian Club), an organization that gave money and work to war refugees. He was asked to organize a series of fund-raising concerts for the effort, which were held at the home of Jeanne Herscher, an eminent friend of Charles Koechlin. It was at one of these concerts, on May 27, 1915, that the Sonate pour piano et deux violins received its premiere, with the composer and Yvonne Astruc playing the violin parts, while Madame Herscher played the piano part.
Like the majority of Milhaud's sonatas and sonatinas, the Sonate pour piano et deux violins is in three movements. Though only about half as long as the Sonate pour violin et piano, there are many stylistic similarities to it and other early works of the composer. Sonata-allegro form is used in the outer movements. Though there is some use of polytonality and quartal and quintal harmonies, the influence of traditional tonality is still strong. Texturally it is fairly thick, with the piano part reminiscent of the late nineteenth century, covering a good deal of the keyboard, with double octaves, arpeggios, etc.
The nineteenth-century French penchant for cyclic organization is reflected in the second movement, Modéré, where themes from the first movement, Animé, reappear. The middle movement, in three big sections, also has references to Impressionism -- another thing only encountered in Milhaud's early works. Following the exposition in B major of the last movement, "Très vif," the first theme returns, but transposed to the Mixolydian mode. Parallel fourths and fifths are prominent in the development section. The recapitulation features mirror writing, complicated counterpoint, and an ostinato in which B flat and C major chords alternate.