A violin sonata is a piece of music for violin that is usually performed with the accompaniment of a piano or other keyboard instrument. In most cases, a sonata is composed in three or four movements. An allegro movement is usually followed a slower movement in a violin sonata. The final movement is usually a rondo or a theme with variations, which is a faster movement. A third movement, such as a minuet or scherzo, would be included in a four-movement sonata.
The term “sonata” was coined to distinguish instrumental works from those written for singers, which were known as cantatas. It became associated with a specific type of music written for a solo instrument with accompaniment, such as a violin or cello, over time. The sonata evolved over time, eventually settling into its familiar three- or four-movement structure during Western music’s Classical Period in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The first movement of a sonata is frequently composed in sonata form. There is an exposition, a development transition, and a recapitulation in this section. The sonata form, on the other hand, is not limited to sonata-like musical works. It also serves as the foundation for symphony first movements and other works.
Composers like Antonio Vivaldi wrote violin sonatas with figured bass accompaniment, which was popular during the Baroque period. The sonatas published Arcangelo Corelli in 1700 marked a turning point in the development of the baroque violin sonata. These violin sonatas were written in the chamber sonata style, which included dance movements such as the Sarabanda and Giga, as well as the church sonata style, which did not include dance movements.
The violin sonata was frequently used Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, though composers such as Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann also paid attention to violin sonatas. Beethoven’s Spring and Kreutzer sonatas are two of the most well-known violin sonatas of the nineteenth century. Composers like Sergei Prokofiev and Bela Bartok created music in this style in the twentieth century.
Sonatas for solo violin with no accompaniment have also been written. Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin are important early examples of violin sonatas in this form, and they helped to establish the violin as a solo instrument. The sonata for unaccompanied violin Bartok, which is clearly intended as an homage to Bach, is an example from the twentieth century.