Valentin Silvestrov

Sonata

The Sonata for cello and piano introduces a 'novel imaginary instrument', a cello piano which is played in a mysterious way, as if by a musician.This metaphorical instrumentation creates a metaphorical composition, a kind of instrumental 'monodrama for three persons', as stated by Silvestrov. In this case, the 'third person' is the pedal which not only provides additional timbre but is also meant to be an independent part. The composer requires from it a 'particularly sensitive' response to the other parts.In this 'monodrama', everything is unusual: the role of the soloists which do not accompany but reflect each other; the texture, called 'sonorous monophony', with each motif being surrounded by its 'double echo'; the 'vibrating roar' of the predominating triplet figures and ostinatos; and finally the form which follows a completely different logic than that of the sonata form. (Tatjana Frumkis)