Brahms' 1st Violin Sonata Premiered On This Day in 1879

Also titled Regensonate (Rain Sonata), the sonata is a much loved standard in today's recital and competition repertoire

Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major Op. 78 was premiered in Bonn on this day in 1879, by husband and wife duo Robert Heckmann (violin) and Marie Heckmann-Hertig (piano). Containing three movements, they all share common motivic ideas and thematic material from Brahms' songs Regenlied and Nachklang, Op. 59, No. 3 and 4.

Brahms was known as an extreme perfectionist and composed this first violin sonata at the age of 46. His self-criticism and fastidiousness led him to destroy or leave many of his works unpublished.

A student of his claimed that Brahms had destroyed five violin sonatas before he wrote this one, the first sonata he thought worthy of sharing with his musical colleagues and the public. The work contains melodies full of noble tenderness, bursting lyricism, and an abundance of cyclic interconnections. Although the violin mostly has the leading voice, the work requires an equal partnership of both the violin and piano, as the two instruments constantly imitate and echo one another.

The pressure to produce only the finest compositions can be attributed in part to Robert Schumann,who announced early on that Brahms would develop into the next great composer like Ludwig van Beethoven.

RAY CHEN & TADASHI IMAI | BRAHMS VIOLIN SONATA NO. 1 IN G MAJOR | 2008