Maurice Ravel

Sonate (Sonata No. 2) in G Major, M.77

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) composed this only violin sonata published during his lifetime between 1923 and 1927. As it was long considered to be his only Violin Sonata (Sonate), it bore that title until an earlier violin sonata (1897) was discovered 38 years after Ravel's death and published in 1975, creating some confusion regarding the titles for the two works, with the 1927 work either titled Sonate or Sonata No. 2. The second movement was inspired by the American forms of jazz and blues, which both Ravel and his good friend Hélène Jourdan-Morhange, to whom the sonata was dedicated, loved. Jourdan-Morhange was supposed to have premiered the work on the violin, but she was unable to perform anymore by the time Ravel finished the work, so it premiered in 1927 with Georges Enescu playing the solo, accompanied by Ravel. Movements: I. Allegretto (G Major); II. Blues. Moderato (A-flat Major); III. Perpetuum mobile. Allegro (G Major). Reprint edition. (16:00)