Abstract:
Prokofiev's and Shostakovich's contribution to the violin sonata
repertoire is examined in the context of the historical development of the
violin sonata genre in Russia. Commentary on various aspects of the music,
character and social conditions of Prokofiev and Shostakovich follows,
analysing and translating excerpts from previously untranslated Russian
sources. Motivic development in the first movements of both sonatas is
examined in detail.
Chapter 1 forms an overview of the Russian violin sonata's
development over three centuries with special reference to the influence of
various nationalistic forces and their effects on music history; Chapter 2
examines the Russian violin sonata's development in the eighteenth century;
Chapter 3 examines its development in the nineteenth century; Chapter 4
examines its development in the twentieth century; Chapter 5 provides
some aspects of Prokofiev's and Shostakovich's biographical backgrounds
and focuses on a comparison of their personalities and compositional styles;
Chapter 6 describes the circumstances surrounding the composition of
Prokofiev's Violin Sonata in F minor; Chapter 7 is an account of a meeting
with Sergei 0. Prokofieff (grandson of the composer Prokofiev) in which he elaborated on many aspects of Prokofiev's personal, creative life and his
aesthetics; Chapter 8 describes the circumstances surrounding the
composition of Shostakovich's Violin Sonata, including observations about
Shostakovich's remarks on and performance of his own works; Chapter 9 is
a transcription of a meeting with Shostakovich's pupil Boris Tishchenko, in
which he played and discussed Shostakovich's Violin Sonata; Chapter 10
discusses similarities between the Violin Sonata in F minor by Prokofiev and
the Violin Sonata by Shostakovich and analyses the scores of these sonatas
to show how they share similar motivic material. A distinct type of motive is
defined, named the "brooding motive", the development of which is traced
throughout both first movements.
It is concluded that a richer personal understanding, interpretation and
performance of the two chief sonatas of the study, the Violin Sonata in F
minor by Prokofiev and the Violin Sonata by Shostakovich, could be
achieved by studying the different components of their creation, for
example, the finer musical details of the motivic building blocks,
acquaintance with the personal lives of the composers, analysis of the social
and political conditions of Russia during the composers' lifetimes and
familiarity with the longer musical history of the development of the violin
sonata genre in Russia.