VOLKHARD STEUDE I

Edvard Grieg wrote his third violin sonata, as Beethoven wrote his fifth, in the “fateful” key of C minor. It was described as a “tragedy in chamber music form”. However, it gradually dissipates and moves into a radiant C major. Claude Debussy chose the key of G minor for his only violin sonata. This was written in the middle of the First World War, when Debussy was already suffering from cancer. The key of A minor was chosen by Franz Schubert for his Sonatina. Although this work was written when he was just 19 years old, it was not published until after his death. C. D. Schubart heard “Fromme Weiblichkeit” (Pious womanhood) and “Weichheit des Charakters” (Softness of nature) in the key of A minor. Perhaps this is why Pauline Viardot selected the same key for her own violin sonata?