The compositional environment of the violin sonatas of Shostakovich and Prokofiev : a contextual study of the Shostakovich Violin Sonata and the Prokofiev Violin Sonata in F Minor

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.