Programmes & Programme Notes

University of St Andrews Making Music 3 Recital

Sonata No. 2 in A Minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1003, Andante
J.S. Bach (1685–1750)

Violin Sonata No. 12 in D Minor, Op. 5, "La Folia"
Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), edited by Zino Francescatti (1902–1991)

Sonata No. 5 in F Major for piano and violin, Op. 24, "Spring" Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Program Notes

In this live recital, violinist Ava GianGrasso presents a selection of favorite works from various musical eras, exploring how historical bowing practices shape interpretation. Opening the programme is the third-movement Andante from J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in A Minor for Solo Violin (BWV 1003), using bowing practice informed by the Baroque era. Although written for unaccompanied violin, this movement balances an upper and lower voice, requiring delicate management between both voices in a single bow stroke. The violin bow was different in this period: lighter, shorter, and convex rather than concave which facilitated playing multiple strings at once.

Unaccompanied Bach is some of Ava’s favorite music to play because of the encouraged personal musical expression. Much of the music from the baroque period is dance music. This, along with the lack of accompaniment, gives musicians extensive room for different interpretations. The structure and phrasing of the Andante reflect the improvisatory nature of Baroque performance, where musicians were expected to embellish melodies and shape phrases using their own personal discretion. The sparse dynamic markings and limited musical instructions allow each performance to be unique. This performance focuses on dynamic shaping, bow speed variations, and tempo stretching to create expressive contrast, remaining stylistically faithful to Baroque ideals while allowing for personal musical expression.

Second on the program—but originally published twenty years before Bach’s A Minor Sonata—Corelli’s Follia presents an opportunity for Ava to approach a Baroque-era piece with 20th century bowing technique. The edition used on this programme is that of violinist Zino Francescatti, a 20th-century virtuoso. Francescatti’s editorial style is notably clear, offering ample instructions regarding tempo changes, dynamics, and bowing, and incorporates phrasing deliberately conceived to align with the more equal weighting of the modern bow. Additionally, Corelli’s Follia was originally intended to be performed with basso continuo, however, Francescatti’s edition replaces it with piano accompaniment. Honoring these differences between Francescatti’s version and Corelli’s original text of Follia, Ava plays this piece with a 20th-century approach, focusing on bow use in particular.

This piece is a sequence of variations on a theme, opening with the Follia chord progression, played dramatically and deliberately through long, heavy bow strokes that contrast with the lighter, more detached style typical of a Baroque bow, and incorporates notable vibrato. Compared to the Baroque bow, the modern bow is longer and balances more evenly, allowing for wider breadth of articulation, dynamics, and a more powerful sound. Even this initial opening would have sounded less forceful and continuous in the Baroque period than it does in Francescatti’s edition with the technology of the modern bow. As Follia progresses into its variations, this performance incorporates techniques like sostenuto, détaché, martelé, and staccato—techniques that would not have been used in a historically informed Baroque performance but are historically appropriate to Francescatti’s edition. The blend of contemporary style with Baroque music creates space for dynamic and expressive contrast, while still working to preserve the dance-like energy of the original work. Diversifying a theme into variations allows for a familiarity while evoking different feelings, gently guiding listeners on a musical journey.

In the final selection, Beethoven’s fifth violin sonata ‘Spring’, this performance takes inspiration from the work’s title, embracing its light, lyrical character. Though Beethoven himself did not name this piece, its cheerful and flowing melodies led to its nickname and gained popularity after his death. Of his nine violin sonatas written between 1797 and 1803, this sonata is one of the most well known. Written in Beethoven’s earlier years, the ‘Spring’ sonata is thought to be more uplifting than his later works, composed before the infamous hardships that occurred later in his life such as his loss of hearing.

The classical period (c. 1730-1815) evolved alongside the Enlightenment, prioritizing clarity, evenness, balance, and pureness of sound. Indeed, the ‘Spring’ sonata strays from the business of the Baroque and instead, the violin and piano work together to trade off melodic lines in conversation with specific and sudden dynamic shifts. A listener might expect a crescendo leading to a fortissimo, only to find it instead resolves into a subito piano as the line continues in a different voice. The interplay between the voices highlights that this is a true sonata for violin and piano, and features different musical character throughout the movements.

This performance of ‘Spring’ further aligns bowing and style with the period in which it was written, using historical bowing interpretations and respecting Classical-era performance practice. The Classical aesthetic of clarity—achieved through even articulation, phrasing, and tone production—marks a distinct shift from the more uneven and inflected style of the Baroque. The utilization of the bow in this performance of the ‘Spring’ Sonata parallels some similarities with bow use in this performance’s interpretation of Follia. Again, modern bows, with more even weight distribution than Baroque bows, enable greater use of techniques such as spiccato—a light, off-the-string bounce that the convex Baroque bow can not easily accommodate. Additionally, the longer and more balanced bow supports extended slurs, producing a more sustained, even line. More dramatic and lyrical bowing techniques, like sostenuto bowing, are particularly evident in the second movement, enhancing the dramatic shift as the violin enters on a D-flat rather than the expected D-natural. Meanwhile, the third movement emphasizes near-metronomic precision and clear, separate staccato articulation, achieved through controlled use of the bow’s balance point—closer to the middle in modern bows. This evenness and separation contrast with Baroque bowing practices, where fast notes were more often played near the heavier frog to take advantage of natural bow weight.

This edition of the ‘Spring’ sonata was edited by Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), a Hungarian violinist and a friend of composer Johannes Brahms. Known for his commitment to honoring composers' original intentions, Joachim nonetheless introduced noticeable changes to bowings compared to Beethoven’s initial text of the ‘Spring’ Sonata. For example, in measures 77 through 83 of the first movement, Beethoven marks separate bows for this passage, while Joachim’s editing inserts hooks, maintaining a single bow stroke. This may suggest a longer line, attaching notes for a longer phrase feel. Differences such as these leave room for discussion as to whether these edits reflect what was already widely done in Beethoven’s day, or whether Joachim is utilizing a slightly different approach. It is possible he felt that his knowledge of violin technique improved these pieces for the modern-day violinist, or even added nuance and subtle personality to his interpretations. Whatever the case, each movement of the ‘Spring’ Sonata encapsulates a range of techniques that showcase the beauty and versatility of the violin. This sonata highlights many distinct tasks of the violin bow: sudden dynamic changes, long lyrical phrasing, and bright, lively passages played with clarity reminiscent of a spring day.

For this performance, Ava has had the privilege of working with and being accompanied by Ailsa Aitkenhead. Ailsa is a professional pianist, accompanist, and piano teacher. She graduated from RCS, with distinction, where she studied a masters in piano accompaniment. Ailsa is the staff pianist at St Andrews University, and performs with the RSNO, Fever, Three Bridges Opera, Mostly Baroque and many more. She has frequent concert bookings across Scotland both as a soloist and collaborator.

Ava GianGrasso is from Buffalo, New York, currently studying abroad at the University of St Andrews. A violin performance major at Washington and Lee University, she serves as concertmaster of the Washington and Lee University Orchestra and founded the W&L String Quartet. A violinist since age seven, Ava enjoys sharing her music with others in different settings, such as hospitals and assisted living facilities in addition to formal concerts. Preparing for a future in medicine, she facilitates music therapy specifically for those affected by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, allowing her to combine her violin performance and neuroscience majors. In her spare time, Ava rows for the St Andrews Rowing Team and plays tenor saxophone in the W&L Jazz Ensemble. After her undergraduate studies, Ava will attend medical school. In the future, she hopes to keep music close at hand by joining community ensembles and forming chamber groups while balancing her career as a physician.