Schubert - Arpeggione

F. Schubert, Sonata n. 1 in re magg. per violino e pianoforte op. 137 n. 1 D 384 (Sonatina)
F. Schubert, Sonata in la min. D 821 “Arpeggione“
L. Desyatnikov, “Wie der alte Leiermann” per violino e pianoforte (Omaggio a Schubert) 
F. Schubert, Rondo brillante per violino e pianoforte in si min. op. 70 D 895

This evening’s program is totally dedicated to Franz Schubert, with two pieces for violin and piano: the original, Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione” and a composition dedicated to him by Leonid Desyatnikov. The opening piece is a youthful sonata: “per il pianoforte con accompagnamento di violino”, published posthumously in 1836, as part of a series of Sonatine (as they were generally called then), their brevity reflecting the influence of Mozart in their formal and melodic structure. It is not known to whom the Sonata per arpeggione was destined, though it is believed to have been Vincenz Schuster, a promoter of this particular six-stringed instrument, midway between a five-stringed viola pomposa and the baryton, but also known as a guitar-violoncello. It was created by the stringed instrument maker – the liutaio Johann Georg Stauffer – but soon disappeared. The Sonata was then published posthumously, and is generally played on a cello.
An interesting detail of tonight’s program with the outstanding violinist Sergey Malov, invited to Stresa with the fortepianist Flóra Fábri, is that he performs the Arpeggione on a five-stringed cello held at the shoulder, constructed by Dmitri Badiarov.
After a tribute to Schubert from Leonid Desyatnikov, Wie der alte Leiermann, the evening will close with the Rondò D 895, a bright, light piece written in 1826, two years before composer’s premature death.