Emilie Mayer (1812-1883)

Nationality: German

Born: May 14, 1812, Friedland, Mecklenburg Died: April 10, 1883, Berlin (age 70)

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Violin Sonata in e minor, Op. 19

(for violin and piano)

12:07	I.	Allegro agitato
4:56	II.	Scherzo
6:57	III.	Adagio
6:14	IV.	Allegro con brio

Duration: 31 minutes (approximately)

Published: 1867, Berlin: Bote & Bock (age 54-55)

Dedication: Dem Herrn Musikdirector W. Wieprecht hochachtungsvoll zugeeignet

1 recording, 4 videos

autoopen autoplay

12:07

Aleksandra Maslovaric

I. Allegro agitato

4:56

Aleksandra Maslovaric

II. Scherzo

6:57

Aleksandra Maslovaric

III. Adagio

6:14

Aleksandra Maslovaric

IV. Allegro con brio

From Edition Silvertrust

Emilie Mayer (1812-1883) was born in the German town of Friedland. Although she received piano and organ lessons as a child, she did not pursue a musical career as her widowed father needed her to help keep house for him. It was only upon his death at the age of 28 that she pursued formal studies moving to the city of Stettin (since 1945 Szczecin in Poland) where she took composition lessons from Carl Loewe, the City Music Director. Loewe considered her extraordinarily talented and as a result she worked extremely hard, dedicating herself to composition. On Loewe’s recommend she went to Berlin where she studied with Adolph Marx, then a leading teacher in theory and composition and a family friend of the Mendelssohns. It is through him that he introduced her to them and their circle of musical friends. She was a fairly prolific composer, especially in view of the fact that she started to composer rather late. Among her many works number eight symphonies, six piano trios, two piano quartets, seven string quartets, two string quintets, seven violin sonatas, and twelve cello sonatas.

The Op. 19 Sonata in e minor dates from 1867. The huge opening movement, Allegro agitato, immediately takes the listener’s attention with its dramatic and insistent theme, full of forward motion. The music is brimming over with appealing themes, enough for several movements. They are by turns lyrical and romantic and thrusting and full of power. The second movement is a Scherzo. Motion is by way of syncopation. The mood is much the same as the opening of the first movement. It is followed by a beautiful Adagio. The finale, Allegro con brio, is exciting from the first bar to the last.

This is a first rate Romantic era sonata. We feel that it is as good as anything that was written from that time and that it belongs in the front rank of such works and should take its place in the repertoire. Hard to believe that such a compelling work was forgotten. We hope that by making it available once again, it will take its rightful place in recital halls.

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glossary

adagio [It]—slow tempo, often implying a lyrical, poignant character
agitato, agité [F]—agitated, restless, excited
allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
brio [I], con brio, brioso—vigor, vigorously, with fire
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
con [I,S]—with
duo, duet, dueto [S], duetto [I], duett [G]—a work for two instruments; the ensemble itself
opus [L], opera[pl], Op., Opp, WoO, Op. posth—work, as in a work of art. For unique identification, publishers/composers often assign an "opus number", abbreviated as "Op." (e.g. Op. 1). A range of works by opus number, uses the plural "opp." (e.g. "Opp. 1-3"). A single opus number may refer to a collection of works (e.g. a set of quartets) giving rise to designations like "Op. 1, No. 4". For misc. works without opus numbers, "WoO" is often used (e.g."Without Opus"). Posthumously assigned numbers may use "Op. posth". Opus numbers may not precisely reflect chronology (publication vs. composition), can be erroneous, sparse or duplicative. Thus, the works of some historically important composers may use separate catalog numbers (e.g. Bach, Haydn, Schubert). See wiki
scherzo—lively, brisk, typically in a triple meter; usually a three-part form with central, contrasting trio
sonata [I], sonate [pl], suonato—Originally, "sounded" rather than "sung" (sonar vs. cantar), i.e. instrumental music. According to historical period, sonata began to imply a formal plan of movements as well as the structure within a single movement, e.g. "sonata form" and applies to instrumental sonatas, string quartets, symphonies, etc., all examples of the sonata principle. In general usage as a specific work title (e.g. violin sonata), it designates a multi-movement piece for solo or duo instruments with one of the instruments enjoying a feature role. wiki
violin sonata—a multi-movement work for violin and keyboard (or continuo) though there are sonatas for solo violin as well as sonatas in a single movement. While the violin would seem to be the featured instrument, many sonatas starting with the classical period find the piano to be an equal partner in the sense of a chamber work for two players.