24 Preludes for Violin and Piano

For violin and piano

24 Preludes

for Violin and Piano

A cycle of twenty-four preludes for violin and piano, moving through the full tonal spectrum by the circle of fifths.

Year 1999
Duration 52′
Scoring Violin
Piano
Publisher Boosey & Hawkes
/ Sikorski
Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski Purchase Score Abbreviations PDF

Dedication

Dedicated to Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe.

Commission

Commissioned by Herbert and Beverly Gelfand. Los Angeles.

Premiere

22 June 2003. Staatsoper Hamburg · Vadim Gluzman, violin · Angela Yoffe, piano.

Structure

Twenty-four short pieces conceived as one continuous composition. The cycle follows the circle of fifths and covers all major and minor tonalities.

Preludes

  • 1. C major

    Adagio mortale

  • 2. A minor

    Andante · tempo di valzer

  • 3. G major

    Andantino misterioso

  • 4. E minor

    Allegro

  • 5. D major

    Allegro moderato

  • 6. B minor

    Allegro marcato

  • 7. A major

    Allegro moderato

  • 8. F-sharp minor

    Andante

  • 9. E major

    Allegro

  • 10. C-sharp minor

    Allegro

  • 11. B major

    Allegretto

  • 12. G-sharp minor

    Adagio

  • 13. F-sharp major

    Allegro moderato

  • 14. E-flat minor

    Presto

  • 15. C-sharp major

    Adagio sognando

  • 16. B-flat minor

    Misterioso

  • 17. A-flat major

    Vivo

  • 18. F minor

    Agitato

  • 19. E-flat major

    Moderato

  • 20. C minor

    Tragico

  • 21. B-flat major

    Andante

  • 22. G minor

    Moderato serioso

  • 23. F major

    Andante

  • 24. D minor

    Presto

Work Information

Full Title
24 Preludes for Violin and Piano
Scoring
For violin and piano.
Year
1999
Duration
52′
Form
Cycle of 24 preludes.
Instrumentation
Violin and piano.
Abbreviations PDF
Dedication
Dedicated to Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe.
Commission
Commissioned by Herbert and Beverly Gelfand of Los Angeles.
Premiere
22 June 2003 · Staatsoper Hamburg; John Neumeier, choreographer · Hamburg Ballett; Vadim Gluzman, violin · Angela Yoffe, piano.
Publisher
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski .
Score
Score available through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski.
Availability
Score available for purchase through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski.
Recording
Recorded by Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe for BIS, and by Christine Bernsted and Ramez Mhaanna for Naxos.

The Work

24 Preludes for Violin and Piano is a large-scale chamber cycle written in 1999. The work follows the circle of fifths, moving through all major and minor tonalities and treating the twenty-four preludes not as isolated pieces, but as parts of one continuous composition.

“Re-establishing the value and expressive possibilities of all major and minor tonalities is as valid at the beginning of the twenty-first century as it was during Bach’s time.” Lera Auerbach

In this version, the violin and piano form a dramatic double voice. The piano carries architecture, resonance and harmonic gravity, while the violin moves through lyricism, rupture, shadow, dance and lament. The result is both a traversal of tonal space and a sequence of sharply defined psychological states.

  • Form Cycle of 24 preludes.
  • Tonal Plan Circle of fifths.
  • Forces Violin and piano.

Context

The cycle belongs to Auerbach’s broader engagement with the twenty-four-prelude tradition. Alongside the piano and cello versions, the violin and piano cycle reclaims all tonalities as expressive territories rather than historical artifacts.

The work’s dedication to Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe is inseparable from its identity. The music is chamber music in the fullest sense: intimate, virtuosic, theatrical and built on the volatile equality between two instruments.

Online Materials

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Publisher and Materials

Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. The score is available through the official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski purchase page.