# Favorite Violin Sonatas



## Chrythes

Since I couldn't find a thread dedicated to our favorite Violin Sonatas I decided to start one myself. 

To this day I mainly explored the String/Piano Quartets/Quintets sub-genre of Chamber Music. But I also stumbled upon astonishing works such as Enescu's Violin Sonata No.3 and his Impressions d'enfances (it's not a Violin Sonata, but a piece written for piano and violin). I've also heard Ravel's, Debussy's, Pierne's, Franck's and mostly they were enjoyable works. 

So, what are your favorite Violin Sonatas?


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## Taneyev

Lekeu
Franck
Brahms 3
Kreutzer
Enescu 2&3
Leo Weiner 1&2
Dohnanyi
Faure 1&2
Saint-Saëns 1
Respighi
Elgar
Grieg 3
......


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## jurianbai

Schubert's
Mendelssohn's

for some rarity try:

Onslow's
Ives


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## Arsakes

Beethoven's
Dvorak's
Brahms'
Sibelius'


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## MaestroViolinist

Beethoven
Mozart (I listened to a dvd one day, all of Mozart's sonata's, I was almost dead at the end of it... but they're still nice)
Veracini (I'm playing his at the moment)

Um, who else, I'll think of some more later.


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## Arsakes

Ah I mistook Violin Sonatas with Piano Sonatas ...


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Paganini's Sonata Concertata.


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## Sid James

My favourites are the violin sonatas of:
- Janacek
- Beethoven
- Debussy
- Ives
- Enescu
- Raymond Hanson (Australian composer, reviewed at http://www.talkclassical.com/5632-australian-composers-5.html#post273205 thread).

I'm also partial to Mozart's & Schubert's on occasion. Franck's and Ravel's I've only heard once (live), and I enjoyed them. Heard Copland's recently on youtube and I thought it was great, pity its not well known.

But have yet to hear many others. Some great suggestions above, esp. Odnoposoff. Great genre overall. Of course there are things that are violin sonatas in everything but name. Szymanowski's_ Mythes _comes to mind.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Paganini's Sonata Concertata.


Forgot to mention Ysaÿe.


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## elgar's ghost

In addition to some of the above I'm very fond of Hindemith's 3rd and 4th and the three mature ones by Delius. And in order to bolster the Russian/Soviet contingent I'd include Shostakovich's op. 134 and Prokofiev's no. 1 op. 80. Schnittke's three sonatas are also establishing themselves with me.


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## joen_cph

Delius 1-3/Holmes-Fenby, 
Debussy/Gitlis-Argerich, 
Enescu 2,3/Enescu,Lipatti,
Medtner´s 3rd/Feighin, 
Brahms´ 3rd, 
Poulenc´s charming one, 
Janacek´s, 
Grieg´s 3rd/Grumiaux
Turina´s 1st,
Beethoven´s "Spring", 
Beethoven´s "Kreutzer"/Busch-Serkin,

and 
Jaroslav Jezek´s.

Probably Paul Juon´s too.


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## Tero

Chandos, Purcell Quartet playing, Opus 5 and Opus 1 sonatas. Several are for 2 violins and continuo.


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## Quartetfore

Two works that I like very much are the Sonatas of Richard Strauss and Edward Elgar.


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## Sonata

I've enjoyed Beethoven's Violin sonata in A minor, as well as Mendelssohn's.


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## Taneyev

...

Szymanowsky
Ireland 1&2
Josef Wieniawsky
Sergei Taneyev
Gyorgy Catoire
Dvorak
Busoni 2
Poulenc
Bloch 1
Ravel
Debussy
Anton Rubinstein 2
....


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## Tero

On the Chandos disc RV70 has unusual material for Vivaldi in the slow movement.


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## Klavierspieler

Beethoven "Kreutzer"
All of Schumann's 
Poulenc
Janacek
Elgar


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## neoshredder

This is starting to become a great format for me. I willl definitely look into the suggestions. Seems to be a great format for Beethoven and Mozart.


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## principe

The best Violin Sonata is the one by Cesar Franck in A major. A great Work for the genre, requiring the optimum from both soloists. In terms of the contents, it's a quite rich work, very demanding and rewarding in repeated listening.
As for the emotional and spiritual substance, it sounds like a constant ascent to the...light.
Other great Violin/Piano Sonatas are Mozart's only minor one, in e-minor (k.304) and Beethoven's Kreutzer due to its beyond proportion rich and most substantive work for this medium.

Principe


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## Corvus

I have a cd of Handel's violin sonatas by Andrew Manze that I am enjoying.


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## StlukesguildOhio




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## oogabooha

I have many violin sonatas that I'll post in here later, but if I had to choose my favorite, it'd definitely be:






unfortunately that video ^^ doesn't seem to do it justice ...but it's still a great recording


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## Ukko

Franck, Bartók, Ysaye.


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## principe

And, if we have to embark on the 20th century, we should not forget the monumental ones by Shostakovich and Bartok, followed by the quite memorable two by Prokofiev.
Shostakovich's Violin Sonata is a modern masterpiece of enormous musical and expressive power. A titanic work for any great violinist. 
For a "safer" territory, try Faure's. Civilised stuff.

Principe


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## hocket

StLuke's, I've noticed you drop Walther's name a few times recently. I was wondering whether you'd come across Plantier's recording of Westhoff, the other outstanding saxon violinist of that time?

Antonio Bertali and Johann Heinrich Schmelzer are winners with me as well as the likes of Biber (the king!) and Corelli. Something I enjoyed recently was Carlo Ambrogio Lonati's sonatas, which are something of a rarity. Jean Fery Rebel and Jean Marie Leclair (whose sonatas I far prefer to his concertos) are also great. The likes of Marini and Uccellini produced some fine sonatas too (something I've been wanting to lay my hands on for some time are the sonatas of Salamone Rossi).

Veracini's Sonate Accademiche are outstanding and surely worth a mention.


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## spradlig

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Franck's. This seems to be the most frequently played at least on classical radio and perhaps the best known. I have heard it too many times.

Ravel's.

At least one of Brahms's 3 shows the master at the top of his powers. I am not as familiar with them as I would like.


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## spradlig

I'm surprised more have not mentioned Franck's. This seems to be the most frequently played at least on classical radio and perhaps the best known. I have heard it too many times.

Ravel's.

At least one of Brahms's 3 shows the master at the top of his powers. I am not as familiar with them as I would like.


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## moody

spradlig said:


> I'm surprised more have not mentioned Franck's. This seems to be the most frequently played at least on classical radio and perhaps the best known. I have heard it too many times.
> 
> Ravel's.
> 
> At least one of Brahms's 3 shows the master at the top of his powers. I am not as familiar with them as I would like.


Principe, just a few posts back nominated it---said it was the greatest!


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## ScipioAfricanus

Strauss in E flat, and all of Mozarts.


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## principe

Thanks Moody for reminding Spradlig of my post. 
I can repeat to consolidate it that Franck's Sonata is the crowning work of the medium. No composer has managed this extreme balance between the two instruments with such a demanding and most meaningful and idiomatic score for both soloists. A sonata for top artists in top form.
However, to truly enjoy it, since it is the "end station", you have to listen and indulge in Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and the rest...

Principe


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## aleazk

Franck's sonata is the absolute masterpiece of the genre for me. It even established the canon for the future composers.
Ravel's sonata is another of my favorites, also Beethoven's Kreutzer and Brahms's 3 and 1.

Oh, also Ravel's Sonate Posthume is great, despite the strong influence from Franck's sonata.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I like Bach's sonatas for violin and keyboard.


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## principe

Bach's Sonatas for Harpsichord (not exactly "keyboard") and Violin are the culminating point of the exquisite Baroque type of Sonatas _with_ rather than _for_ Violin. When they are performed on Piano (not that often and I won't wonder why), they sound somehow beyond Baroque. I almost adore the Zimmermann/Rava recording on Sony.
However, I believe the Baroque Violin music is an altogether different chapter to be discussed along with the Classic Violin/Piano Sonata medium.

Principe


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## Sohrab Rostam

Could you please suggest a recording which does justice to the piece in your mind.


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## hpowders

My favorite accompanied violin sonatas are the Franck and Brahms No. 1.

Unaccompanied would be the J.S. Bach No. 2.


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## Vaneyes

Sohrab Rostam said:


> Could you please suggest a recording* which does justice to the piece in your mind*.


I don't have a Violin Sonata recording that doesn't do "justice to the piece in my mind", otherwise, it would've been culled. They're too numerous to list, but if you have a few you'd like suggestions for....


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## EdwardBast

Another very strong recommendation for the Shostakovich. And Prokofiev's 1st in F Minor is a masterpiece as well.

I also like those of Brahms, the Schumann A minor, and the Franck.


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## Janspe

Prokofiev's F minor sonata for violin and piano is not only my favourite violin sonata, but one of my favourite pieces of music overall. I can't really describe why I love it so much - maybe it's the combination of different moods that makes this piece so special to me.

I must admit, though, that I'm not familiar with too many violin sonatas. I do love the ones by Beethoven (favourites: 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10) and the ones by Debussy, Ravel and Shostakovich. The Franck sonata is of course a tremendously beautiful piece as well.

Brahms' and Schumann's violin sonatas, for my part, require a little more investigating; I haven't really formed an opinion about them yet.

PS. Almost forgot to mention: the four sonatas by *Charles Ives*. An absolutely essential set! They were the first violin sonatas I listened to, and though it took some time, I totally fell in love with them. I probably like #3 the most, even though they are all amazing.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Can someone recommend me a sonata or two composed in more recent years?


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## DiesIraeCX

All 13 Violin Sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms. Out of those, my favorite is LvB #9 "Kreutzer".


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## EdwardBast

Janspe said:


> Prokofiev's F minor sonata for violin and piano is not only my favourite violin sonata, but one of my favourite pieces of music overall. I can't really describe why I love it so much - maybe it's the combination of different moods that makes this piece so special to me.


I've always loved that sonata too and have come to know it thoroughly, in part because a good friend of mine just published an essay on it and we have talked about it for hours (see citation below). For me it isn't the combination of moods, but the fact that the succession of moods has a deep psychological and dramatic coherence, tied together by cyclic thematic connections. For example, the principal theme of the finale is a transformation of the theme of the first movement. The only truly lighthearted moment in the entire sonata is the second theme of the finale (which in turn derives from passages in the second movement). But after a crisis caused by the return of the brutal principal theme of the second movement, the apparent progression toward the light falls apart. It ends with the finale's second theme utterly forlorn, a lament for lost hope. Anyway, I think the first movement is one of the best things Prokofiev ever composed.

Karl, Gregory. "Afterlife of an Archetype: Prokofiev and the Art of Subversion." In _Music and Narrative since 1900_. Ed. Michael L. Klein and Nicholas Reyland (Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2013): 262-80.


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## tdc

My favorites are the Violin Sonatas of the following composers:

Bartok
Bach
Ravel


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## starthrower

Beautiful piece by Lutoslawski.


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## Guest

From my slim pickings, I like Hindemith and Prokofiev. (Both with piano).


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## PeterF

Not sure why, but I like numerous Piano Trios, String Quartets, various Quintets, Sextets, Septets, Octets, Nonets,
but only a small number of Violin Sonatas.

Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms Violin Sonatas are the ones that I most enjoy.

A few others such as violin sonatas by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and few others are ok, but don't grab me the way other chamber works do by those same composers.


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## MoonlightSonata

I like the Franck sonata and Beethoven's Kreutzer a lot.
On the TC tinychat we listened to Prokofiev #1 which was very nice as well.


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## opus55

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Forgot to mention Ysaÿe.


That's a great one. My favorites are Mozart's - performed by Perlman/Barenboim. Also, recently enjoying Beethoven cycle by Faust/Melnikov.


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## aajj

Mozart has a staggering number of brilliant violin sonatas. My favorites include K377, K379 and K454, but I am drawn to a dozen others. 

I agree with the above post, Barenboim/Perlman, but my favorites are probably Haebler/Szeryng. For period instruments, Cooper/Podger are also excellent. 

Also:
Debussy
both of Bartok's
Ravel (the one with the 'blues' middle movement)
Ives Nos. 2 & 4
Janacek 
Schubert Nos. 1 & 2 (D384 & D385)
Shostakovich
Bloch
John Corigliano


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## hpowders

My favorites are the Franck and Brahms No. 1.


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## Joris

Hi friends, I can buy this 4-disc set for less than 10 euros (new)!








But I was wondering, is it the same performance as this recording:






?

Thanks a lot


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## senza sordino

These are a few of my favorite sonatas
Beethoven #5, Spring
Debussy
Grieg 3, and often 1
Prokofiev 1
Franck 
and I can't decide which of the Brahms is my favorite

The Corelli and Handel sonatas are really nice, but I can't pick a favorite among these. 

I've been learning to play the Beethoven Spring Sonata, and it's going fairly well. I'd like to learn a Grieg sonata sometime later this year.

But I'm not so well versed in all the different sonatas by all the different composers.


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## senza sordino

Joris said:


> Hi friends, I can buy this 4-disc set for less than 10 euros (new)!
> View attachment 61188
> 
> 
> But I was wondering, is it the same performance as this recording:
> View attachment 61189
> ?
> 
> Thanks a lot


Joris, I'm sorry but I couldn't find an answer to your question. I looked for a recording date of each, using Allmusic. And looking at the Newton Classics website, which is Naxos. I didn't find a recording date, perhaps someone else will have more luck.

The Newton classics is four disks, the Phillips issue is only two disks, half the music. The Newton classics sounds like a better deal.

My connection to Henryk Szeryng is close, because my current violin teacher attended a master class with Szeryng


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## wolfango

I guess this is about violin-piano sonatas. My favorite is Frank's, but I like Beethoven's Kreutzer and, if cembalo is allowed, the fabulous Devil's sonata by Tartini.


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## teej

There are so many wonderful violin sonatas but my current favourite is Prokofiev Violin Sonata No 2....I highly recommend the James Ehnes/Wendy Chen recording (Analekta). There are no words to describe Ehnes' playing, you just have to listen to it and you may just agree that not only is this the finest performance of the Prokofiev 2nd on disc, but that Ehnes is one of the greatest violinists ever.


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## PeterF

I have been listening to more violin sonatas of late. 

I would recommend 2 sets of "The Great" Mozart Violin Sonatas.
Grumiaux / Klien
Szeryng / Haebler

There are 4 sets of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas I can recommend.
Francescatti / Casadesus
Menuhin / Kempff
Stern / Istomin
Kavakos / Pace

There are many fine performances of the 3 Brahms Violin Sonatas.
Suk / Katchen
Szeryng / Rubinstein
Stern / Bronfman
Perlman / Ashkenazy


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## starthrower

Crappy sound on this, but a beautiful piece!


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## Cosmos

My absolute favorite: Medtner's first. It is extremely pastoral, yet grand
Also love Franck's


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## Avey

More love for *Ives*, especially No. 1. The way that final movement of No. 1 introduces that later-adapted _Watchman_ theme is too much. All nature, peasants, holidays, celebration, and then comes this hymn, an ode to tomorrow, which rises out of the meandering chaos.

And, I believe, he was not a fan of his sonatas, that they were the conservative sound he tried to avoid. Hah!


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## PeterF

Listened a couple of days ago to such an outstanding version of the Franck violin sonata that it has moved up to the list of my favorite violin sonatas. It is by Itzhak Perlman and Martha Argerich . It is on a recently purchased 8 CD box set on EMI titled
" Martha Argerich Edition Chamber Music".
In this same box set is a transcription of the Franck violin sonata for Cello and Piano. Mischa Maisky and Martha Argerich perform this piece which is also very very good.


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## Sordello

One that I really enjoy, and you may not have heard, is composed by Guillaume Lekeu


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## soundoftritones

Brahms No. 3 in D minor - especially that 4th movement *-* I actually just heard it for the first time while hearing a Vengerov version of it in collaboration with Barenboim. I absolutely love this violin sonata! If anyone has recommendations for specific interpretations of this, I would be so happy to receive them!


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## clara s

soundoftritones said:


> Brahms No. 3 in D minor - especially that 4th movement *-* I actually just heard it for the first time while hearing a Vengerov version of it in collaboration with Barenboim. I absolutely love this violin sonata! If anyone has recommendations for specific interpretations of this, I would be so happy to receive them!


for a classical approach Milstein and Horowitz

for a more modern interpretation, Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang

my kind of sonata, tender and melancholic and dark and powerful and full of shadows

technically perfect

a masterpiece


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## PeterF

Though I have many good versions of the Brahms Violin Sonata No.3, I am especially partial to:
Szeryng / Rubinstein
Suk / Katchen


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## calvinpv

If you're looking for violin sonatas off the beaten track, I would recommend Saygun and Roslavets' sonatas. I recently bought a cd of the former's violin sonata and violin suite. I've yet to listen to the suite; as for the sonata, Saygun's textures and rhythms remind me of Bartok but a little more introspective. In his chamber works in general, Saygun is very good at constructing beautiful slow movements where a Turkish melody smoothly glides over the accompaniment while the atmosphere as a whole is one of melancholy.

As for Roslavets, there's a cd from Olympia containing his four existing violin sonatas. I'd consider Roslavets one of the greatest composers ever for the chamber genre, but the 1st, 2nd, and 4th violin sonatas in particular are masterpieces. If you like the formalism of, say, Schoenberg and the expressionism of Berg and the late Frank Bridge, these are for you.

Although these aren't violin sonatas, I would highly recommend Szymanowski's short works for violin and piano: Myths, Nocturne and Tarantella, Romance, L'aube, La berceuse d'Aïtacho Enia, etc. All are extremely rich pieces, oversaturated with color.


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## EDaddy

Wow. It occurs to me (because of this very thread mind you) that the violin sonata format presents a gaping hole in my classical collection... and listening experience as a whole. This must be remedied.

These are the only ones I currently have in my collection and, to my knowledge, the only ones I have ever heard:

Franck - Violin Sonata In A 
Debussy - Sonata for Violin & Piano; Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp (okay, so it's a viola!)
Brahms - Violin Sonatas 1-3

Lovely works to be sure... but I definitely will be checking out some of the favorites posted on this thread. Apparently I'm long over due to fluff up my violin sonata collection... and education!

_"My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect." Emperor Joseph II: Amadeus (The Motion Picture)_


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## DiesIraeCX

EDaddy said:


> Wow. It occurs to me (because of this very thread mind you) that the violin sonata format presents a gaping hole in my classical collection... and listening experience as a whole. This must be remedied.
> 
> These are the only ones I currently have in my collection and, to my knowledge, the only ones I have ever heard:
> 
> Franck - Violin Sonata In A
> *Debussy - Sonata for Violin & Piano; Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp (okay, so it's a viola!)*
> Brahms - Violin Sonatas 1-3


Might I recommend Beethoven's greatest Violin Sonata; #10. It's richly lyrical, pastoral, and one of his most gorgeous works. Just don't expect the "heaven-storming" Beethoven and you may love it.  Now, if heaven-storming is what you're looking for, you should give the "Kreutzer" Sonata a listen, #9.

#5 "Spring" and #7 are also great.


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## Beban

Ludwig van Beethoven 
Violin Sonata No.9 "Kreutzer" 

César Franck 
Violin Sonata FWV 8 

Dora Pejačević 
Violin Sonata No.2 "Slawische Sonate"


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## JD Reyes

Corelli Op. 5, 
Mozart's Piano/Violin Sonata's – especially K 304, 526, 378, 379, 376 
Beethoven #4, #5 "Spring" and #9 "Kreutzer" 
Grieg Op. 8 and Op. 45 
Weinberg Op. 39
Shostakovich Op. 134


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## worov

Milhaud :


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## farris

Kreutzer
Enescu 2&3
Leo Weiner 1&2
Dohnanyi
Faure 1&2


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## Heliogabo

I´m loving Biber´s Rosary sonatas.


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