Violin Junior Recital

KOH SU TING NATALIE

Violin
with Kerim Vergazov, piano

November 21 2018, Wednesday

4.10pm
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall
Free Admission

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of a Bachelor of Music (Honours)

Degree at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore.
PROGRAMME

CÉSAR FRANCK Violin Sonata in A major 28’00

(1822-1890) I. Allegretto ben moderato
II. Allegro
III. Ben moderato:
Recitativo-Fantasia
IV. Allegretto poco mosso

Koh Su Ting Natalie, violin

Kerim Vergazov, piano

LEE JIA YI Odyssey for solo violin 7’00

(1996 - ) (2018)

Koh Su Ting Natalie, violin

PROGRAMME NOTES

CÉSAR FRANCK (1822- 1890)

Violin Sonata in A major
I. Allegretto ben moderato
II. Allegro
III. Ben moderato: Recitativo- Fantasia
IV. Allegretto poco mosso

Composed in 1886, Belgian composer César Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major

is one of his finest compositions, and one of the most frequently performed violin-
piano sonatas. It is famous for its rich harmonic language and constant
modulations. (Franck, being an organist as well, got agitated when his organ
students remained too long in a single key- ‘Modulate, modulate!’ he would
scream.) This sonata is also well-known for its thematic cyclicism; there is the
presence of recurring themes that appear across multiple movements of this
works. Franck had written this sonata as a wedding gift for the famous Belgian
violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, which he had played at his own wedding celebration. He
gave its public premiere later that year at an art gallery, where the room was so
dark that Ysaÿe had to play most of the sonata from memory. This work has
grown so popular that many gave suggestions to arrange it for different
instrumentations, such as for the flute, the viola, and even the tuba. However,
only the arrangement for cello was approved by Franck in the end.

You would expect a late romantic work to open with a fiery first movement,
however, Allegro ben moderato is instead a rather soulful and reflective one. The
opening theme has a somewhat lilting, poetic character to it, and this theme keeps
returning, whether it is through a tentative motion or a with a compelling
fortissimo nature. The movement ends with a brief codetta, which concludes with
what seems to be a musical sigh.
This sense of relief from the conclusion of the first movement is extremely short-
lived, as low rumbling sixteenth notes from the piano opens the second movement
Allegro. This indicates a gloomy, ominous presence that soon explodes into a
furious and somewhat brash outburst of emotions from the piano, which the violin
soon joins in passionately. There are occasional moments where the music
subsides to a soothing calm, but the music almost immediately swings back into
a swirling turbulence. The coda of this movement starts of misterioso, before it
gradually picks up momentum yet again, propelling the movement into a
triumphant finish.

The third movement Ben moderato: Recitativo-Fantasia is amorphous; it is free

of both structure and expression. The piano introduces the movement with a
rising-third gesture which was first presented in the opening theme of the first
movement. The violin responds to this, unaccompanied, in a fantasia-like, almost
cadenza-like, manner. The middle section of this movement introduces two more
themes that will later see a return in the fourth movement. The first of these two
themes is a tranquil and mystical one, while the second theme is a more mournful
and melancholic one.

The uncertainty in emotions and the gloominess of the third movement is soon
dispelled by the cheerful opening of the Finale, Allegretto poco mosso. The sunny
opening melody is treated in exact canonic imitation between the violin and
piano- It is fascinating how the violin line intertwines with the piano line here.
The first of the two themes from the middle section of the third movement returns
immediately after, although this time with colouristic alterations. This is the same
for the return of the second of the two third-movement themes- this theme returns
in a passionate fortissimo and in a heroic manner. The ending of this movement,
and this beautiful work, is a victorious and majestic one, as if Franck is reminding
us that this work was indeed written as a wedding gift; a proclamation of love for
a newlywed couple.

Programme notes by Koh Su Ting Natalie

LEE JIA YI (1996 - )
Odyssey for solo violin (2018)

Odyssey explores the movement of string crossing on the violin, as well as the
upward and downward motion of the bow and fingers from the fingerboard to
behind the bridge. This idea of movement is present throughout the piece as the
material develops and transforms, as if on a long and exciting journey.

There are three sections in the piece: the first one focuses on glissandi (the motion
of the fingers up and down the fingerboard), the second one on arpeggiated chords
(the motion of string crossing and bow moving from fingerboard to behind the
bridge) and the third one features ricochet (bouncing of the bow on the string)
combined with glissandi. On a broader level, there is movement in the shifting of
timbres and in the feeling of tension and release.

Odyssey is written for and dedicated to my dear friend Natalie Koh.

Programme notes by Lee Jia Yi