Vítězslav Novák - Violin Sonata in D minor

Josef Suk / Jan Panenka
00:00 Allegro Appassionato
09:25 Andante Cantabile
17:53 Allegro Giusto
Vítězslav Novák (1870-1949) was a Czech Composer. He was baptized Viktor Novak. In his late teens, he moved to Prague to study at Prague Conservatory, changing his name to Vítězslav to identify more closely with his Czech identity, as many of those of his generation had already done. At the conservatory, he studied piano and attended Antonín Dvořák's masterclasses in composition where his fellow students included Josef Suk, Oskar Nedbal, and Rudolf Karel.
When Dvořák departed for his three-year stay in America (1892-1895), Novák continued his studies with the ultra-conservative Karel Stecker. However, just before and after 1900, shortly after his graduation, Novák wrote a series of compositions that put distance between himself and the teachings of both Stecker and Dvořák, edging his style toward the fledgling modernist movement.
Beginning in the late 1890s, Novák began to explore influences beyond the prevailing Wagner/Brahms aesthetic of his contemporaries in Prague. Among these were folk influences from Moravia and Slovakia, which at that time were considered culturally backward in the cosmopolitan Czech capital. He also developed an interest in what would come to be called musical Impressionism, although in later life he denied any exposure to the music of Debussy at this time, claiming instead to have arrived at similar techniques on his own. These included forays into bitonality and non-functional, parallel harmony. Finally, after the Prague premiere of Salome in 1906, Novák formed an attachment to the music of Richard Strauss that would remain for the rest of his career.
Upon the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Novák turned his focus toward the administration of culture in the new democratic regime. In this capacity, he led the push toward de-Germanification and nationalization of the Conservatory, during which process his German-Bohemian colleagues, including Alexander Zemlinsky and Paul Nettl, were forced out to form a segregated institution. Novák became the new administrative head of the Czech-only institution and held various titles, alternating with Suk and others, until his retirement.
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[@marcela77777]

Beautiful music of our Vítezslav Novak! 🇨🇿
Thank you for a very beautiful comment!
1906 "Salome"
Music is also a theory and belongs to the general overview of 🌹
Cordially, Marcela

[@brucedavies8154]

Very nice !

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

Totally new to me and a very rewarding listen. The pianist is almost busier than the violinist on occasions that adds to the overall enjoyment of this sonata.

[@mumps59]

Yes, a friend of mine used to describe the Rachmaninov and Chopin cello sonatas as being "for piano and whoever else shows up"...he might have put this one in that category as well!

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

@@mumps59 :-) :-)

[@NFStopsnuf]

@@mumps59 the Franck sonata is also notorious for being able to be placed in that category!

[@mumps59]

@@NFStopsnuf agreed!