PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES IN MIECZYSŁAW WAJNBERG’S SONATAS FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO – A PIANIST’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The article Performance Challenges in Mieczysław Wajnberg’s Sonatas for Violin and Piano – a Pianist’s Perspective was written to sum up the author’s experiences connected with his work on the interpretation of the compositions mentioned in the title. The text points to the most significant style-related and instrumental issues a pianist is confronted with while reaching for Wajnberg’s pieces. They include (among others): frequent and long solo fragments, specific texture conditions, necessity to render a complicated metrorhythmic layer in a precise way, or the necessity to undertake – along with the performer of the violin part – creative and well-thought artistic decisions (referring to such elements as dynamics or articulation) in the context of the composer’s reticence related to interpretation tips. The author of the article based his reflections on monographic publications devoted to Wajnberg (which were written by Verena Mogl, Daniel Elphick and David Fanning) and his own analytical and performance work.