Sonata for Violin and Piano [score video]

Score & part available for purchase at https://alexturley.com/violin-sonata Violin: Anna da Silva Chen Piano: Vatche Jambazian Recorded, mixed and mastered by tonmeister Virginia Read at ABC, Sydney. 0:00 - I 2:30 - II 4:39 - III 7:39 - IV 9:59 - V 11:35 - VI 13:28 - VII 14:37 - VIII This sonata for violin and piano was commissioned by ABC Classic via the 2023 Composer Commissioning Fund and was written for Anna da Silva Chen and Vatche Jambazian. The violin-piano duo has a rich and longstanding repertoire. By giving this work the rather traditional title ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’, I sought to engage directly with this lineage, offering a personal response to the form through an exploration of some of my favourite ways to use these two instruments. Whilst much of my usual work is intentionally evocative of specific locations, atmospheres, and emotional states, ‘Sonata’ marks a deliberate departure from that approach. Instead, it invites the listener to draw their own conclusions, focusing attention on the intrinsic qualities of the instruments and the compositional choices that emerge from their interplay. The piece is structured in eight brief movements, each conceived as a self-contained study in a particular image, texture, or mode of interaction between the instruments. For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of composing is leaving space for interpretation, allowing performers to inhabit the work with their own choices. The opportunity to hear how Anna and Vatche brought this piece to life - through both their broad interpretive decisions and the smallest of nuances - was a particularly gratifying part of the process.