Frederick Delius (1862-1934) was born in the English city of Bradford to German Parents. As a boy, he studied violin and piano locally, but his father tried, unsuccessfully, to interest him in a career in commerce. Eventually, he was allowed to enter the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied piano with Carl Reinecke and composition with Salomon Jadassohn. After leaving the Conservatory, he settled in France where he remained for the rest of his life, except during the First World War. He composed in most genres and did not ignore chamber music, writing a string quartet and several instrumental sonatas.
His Violin Sonata No.1 was begun in 1905 but not completed until 1914 and then published in 1917. However, it is not actually his first. There was an earlier s dates from the 1890s but which was not discovered until sixty years later. It is highly romantic and in two large free flowing forms with many tempi changes and mood swings.
