Serge Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Sonate pour violon seul, op. 115

Nathan Milstein (1904-1992)
Paganiniana

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonate pour violon seul, op. 11 n° 6

Claude Pascal (1921-2017)
Deux Etudes-Tableaux
Allegro de Concert

Florentine Mulsant (1962-)
Sonate de concert n° 3, op. 100

Serge Prokofiev (Sontsovka 1891 / Moscou 1953)
Sonate pour violon seul op.115
I. Moderato

II. Andante dolce. Tema con variazioni
III. Con brio. Allegro precipitato

Cette sonate en trois mouvements, composée en 1947 est la dernière œuvre du compositeur consacrée au violon. Elle ne sera jamais jouée de son vivant mais seulement en 1960, sept ans après sa mort. Elle aurait été conçue comme une
œuvre pédagogique pour les étudiants talentueux, pouvant être jouée ad libitum pour violon seul ou violons à l’unisson. D’ailleurs, l’idée lui en serait venue en écoutant des extraits de la 3ème Partita BWV 1006 de Bach interprétée à l’unisson par les vingt finalistes des épreuves de classes de violon du Conservatoire de Moscou, pratique pédagogique répandue alors en Russie.
L’œuvre est foncièrement classique de forme et marque sa forte filiation avec le lyrisme romantique russe. Le moderato initial sous forme de sonate claire enchaîne des thèmes à la forme martiale, des passages en doubles croches qui rappellent le prélude de la susdite Partita et des mélodies au caractère pleinement russe. Le 2ème mouvement propose un thème lyrique emprunté au folklore slave suivi de cinq variations. Le finale est balayé avec brio par une mazurka enlevée.
Fils d'un père ingénieur agronome et d'une mère pianiste amatrice qui sera son premier professeur, ses dons musicaux apparaissent dès son plus jeune âge. Ses maîtres seront, entre autres, Reinhold Glière, à Moscou puis Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov, au Conservatoire de Saint-Pétersbourg.
Devenu virtuose du piano, il donne à Moscou en 1912 son premier concerto pour piano : un succès malgré un style très avant-gardiste.
En 1913, il reçoit la plus haute distinction donnée à un étudiant du Conservatoire de Moscou, le Prix Anton-Rubinstein comme pianiste-compositeur pour le Concerto pour piano n°1 (opus 10). En 1918, lui qui était plutôt sympathisant des idées progressistes, décide de suivre Stravinsky dans l'exil, plus par souci d'avoir tout son temps pour la musique que par idéologie. Il conserve cependant des relations avec son pays d'origine.
Après un séjour aux Etats-Unis, puis un long passage en Europe, en particulier en France, Prokofiev retourne en URSS dans les années 30.

Sergei Prokofiev (Sontsivka 1891 / Moscow 1953)
Sonata for solo violin op.115

I. Moderato

II. Andante dolce. Tema con variazioni

III. Con brio. Allegro precipitato

This three-movement sonata, composed in 1947, is the last work Prokofiev wrote for violin. It was never performed during the composer's lifetime. The piece was commissioned by the Soviet Union's Committee on Arts Affairs as a pedagogical work to be played by multiple talented students in unison. The work, written in the classical style, highlights many of Prokofiev’s late compositional traits. The first movement is structured in the traditional sonata form, while simultaneously incorporating more modern elements, such as vigorous rhythms, unexpected modulations, and dissonance. In the second movement, a lyrical theme evocative of Slavic folklore is followed by five variations. The finale is swept away with brio and enthusiasm by a brisk mazurka-like rondo.
Born in 1891, Prokofiev received his first musical training from his mother, an amateur pianist. A child prodigy, he began composing at age five and studied, among others, with Glière in Sontsivka and with Rimsky-Korsakov at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He initially made his name as a composer-pianist with a series of innovative works that won him both scandal and success. The revolution of 1917 driving Prokofiev from Russia, he stayed in the US, then in Europe, particularly in France: he composed simpler works for America and more intricate ones for avant-garde Paris. In the 1930s, he finally returned to the USSR. His compositional style there became more marked by epic and realistic traits, while pursuing a simpler, more melodic and lyric musical language.

Nathan Milstein (Odesa 1903 / London 1992)
Paganiniana
Paganiniana is a set of variations for solo violin written by Nathan Milstein, one of the finest violinists of the 20th century. Based on the famous theme taken from Paganini’s Caprice n°24, seven variations explore various aspects of modern violin technique, recalling the virtuosity of many of Paganini’s works. This piece is now played as written on the score, but when the composer himself performed it, he often improvised on it.
Born in Odesa, Milstein started studying the violin with Pyotr Stolyarsky, also Oistrakh's teacher, then continued his studies with Leopold Auer at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1921, in Kyiv, he met the young Horowitz, with whom he struck up a lifelong friendship and began touring Russia. Four years later, the two musicians left the Soviet Union to undertake a concert tour of Western Europe. In 1929, he made his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski's direction. Known for his exceptionally long career, he kept giving concerts throughout the world until his retirement at the age of eighty-three. He mostly played on the 1716 "Goldman" Stradivarius and won a Grammy Award in 1975 for his recording of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas.

Paul Hindemith (Hanau 1895 / Frankfurt 1963)
Sonata for solo violin op. 11 n° 6

I. Mäßig schnell

II. Siziliano, Mäßig bewegt

III. Finale, Lebhaft

In the years 1917-1918, against a background of war, the young Hindemith composed his first sonata for solo violin. The composition, influenced by Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, clearly distances itself from late-Romanticism to be directly linked to historicizing traditions oriented towards Baroque music. For a long time, this sonata could only be published in fragmentary form. It was only very recently, in 2002, that favorable circumstances finally made it possible to publish this sonata in its entirety in three movements.
Raised by a strict and ambitious father, Hindemith received intensive musical training from early childhood. Remarkably gifted, he studied the violin with Adolf Rebner, and composition with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles at Frankfurt’s Conservatory. Alongside his studies, Hindemith appeared as a talented violinist in numerous concerts. After World War I, shifting his focus from the violin to the viola, Hindemith founded the Amar Quartet in which he played the viola. From 1922, the success of his compositions as well as his contracts with Schott publishers allowed him to devote himself more to composition. If he was the author of unconventional works and a passionate theorist who formulated the principles of a harmonic system based on an enlargement of traditional tonality, he was also a composer fond of contrapuntal technique, seeking his models in Bach or Haendel.

Claude Pascal (Paris 1921 / Paris 2017)
Deux Études-Tableaux
Deux Études-Tableaux for solo violin was written in 2014 in close collaboration with Yuri Kuroda, a dedicatee of the work, under very special conditions, the composer being in a retirement home. Note: the technical difficulties specific to the instrument (double and triple stops, harmonics, pizzicatos) were most often suggested and overcome by my interpreter.
1. By the fire: Start in double stops. Calm atmosphere. The ending is more turbulent.
2. Crazy ride in the forest: After resting by the fire, it’s time to set off with the usual horses. A double- stop theme expresses a rest in the forest, then the last 6/8 time marks the thunderous departure and arrival.
(Text written by Claude Pascal for the premiere)

Allegro de Concert
The piece was written in 2016 under the same circumstances as above, it became Claude Pascal’s posthumous work.
Born in 1921, Claude Pascal was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at the age of ten. He was chosen, two years later, to play the role of Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande at the Théâtre des Champs- Elysées. A brilliant student, he obtained several prizes at the Conservatoire, including that of musical composition, while continuing his training as a pianist with Yves Nat. In 1945, he won the Premier Prix de Rome for musical composition and stayed at the Villa Medici. He was an associate director of the Paris Conservatoire and an expert for the Paris Court of Appeal. He worked also as a musical critic for Le Figaro. He wrote in a wide range of musical genres, and the discography of his works contains more than thirty CDs, including those of the Polymnie label.

Florentine Mulsant (Dakar 1962)
Concert Sonata for Violin n°3 op 100
I. Lent, quasi recitativo II. 2ème Mouvement III. Fugue
Concert Sonata, written during the fall of 2020, is structured around three movements. The first movement is composed of an expressive theme played in the violin’s low-medium register. It is then developed throughout the entire register of the instrument and ends the movement in a gentle atmosphere. The second movement takes the form of the scherzo-trio and is distinguished by its great vitality. The musical writing explores different playing possibilities such as arpeggiated pizzicati imitating the guitar. The trio is very melodic and singing in character. The modified reprise of the scherzo concludes the movement with great energy. The third movement is a fugue written in the classical style. In the exposition, the principal theme is stated four times successively in each of the parts based on the violin’s four open strings (E -A -D- G). The absence of specific nuances written allows the performer to express themselves freely in accordance with the polyphony. The sonata ends in a beautiful light.
Florentine Mulsant

Born in 1962, Florentine Mulsant studied at the Paris Conservatoire the traditional disciplines (harmony, counterpoint, fugue, analysis and orchestration) and at the Schola Cantorum, where she won the 1st Prize in composition in 1987. Winning many international composition competitions, many of her works are commissioned and performed by great soloists and orchestras. She draws her inspiration from poetry, painting, and travel. Her extensive catalogue of works consists of 127 opuses, including works for solo instrument, chamber music, concerto as well as orchestra. In 2019, she was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She won the Grand Prix Sacem 2019, Composer of the year in symphonic music. In 2024, she was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique Classique.

Website: www.florentinemulsant.com

Translation : Yuko Kuroda

Née à New York, Yuri Kuroda commence ses études de violon à l’âge de cinq ans avec Satoru Arai, au “Suzuki Talent Institute” à Kyoto. A neuf ans, elle joue le Concerto de Bach avec l’Orchestre Concertino di Kyoto. En 2003, elle rencontre Gérard Poulet qui l’incite à travailler dans sa classe à l’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, où elle obtient le Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste à l’unanimité. Également diplômée au Conservatoire National de Région de Paris avec la plus haute récompense, elle est lauréate de nombreux concours internationaux ; 1er Grand Prix au Concours International Jean-Sébastien Bach à Paris, Prix Spécial au Concours International du violon Prix Rodolfo Lipizer en Italie, 3ème prix au Concours International de violon Toshiya Etoh à Tokyo. Elle se perfectionne également auprès de Jean Mouillère, Roland Daugareil, Eiichi Chijiiwa, Archil Kharadze, Yaïr Benaïm, Shigeki Oshita, et Christian Ivaldi à la musique de chambre...
Depuis, elle se produit régulièrement en soliste ainsi qu’en chambriste et participe à de nombreux festivals parmi lesquels : Pablo Casals, Guil-Durance, La Prée, Echternach, Musiciennes en Martinique... et est l’invitée des salles prestigieuses : Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, Palais Prinz Carl, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall. Elle joue en soliste avec l’Orchestre Philharmonique du Japon, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Czestochowa en Pologne, et donne régulièrement des master-classes. En 2010 à Cabourg, elle donne en création, la Sonate dite de Vinteuil pour violon et piano par Claude Pascal, inspirée de l’œuvre de Marcel Proust. La totalité de ce concert fait l’objet d’un enregistrement “live” chez Polymnie (POL210579). Elle est membre du Trio Pléiades depuis 2014 et joue sur un violon de Andrea Guarnerius (1697) aimablement mis à sa disposition par un mécène japonais.

Born in New York, Yuri Kuroda began her studies of the violin at the age of five with Satoru Arai at the Suzuki Talent Institute in Kyoto. Only four years later she was playing Bach’s Concerto with the Kyoto Concertino Orchestra and later Vivaldi’s Concerto with Felix Ayo.
In 2003, Yuri met Gérard Poulet who encouraged her to work in his class of the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, from where she graduated with a Diplôme Superieur de Concertiste in violin with the unanimity of juries. She also graduated from the Conservatoire National de Paris with the highest honors. Yuri’s accolades
at a number of international violin competitions include
First Grand Prize at the "J. S. Bach" in Paris, the special prize at the Rodolfo Lipizer Prize in Italy, and 3rd Prize at the Toshiya Eto in Japan.Since, Yuri has been appearing on stage regularly as a soloist as well as a chamber-music player. She participates in numerous festivals including
Pablo Casals, Musiciennes à Ouessant, Luberon, Abbaye de La Prée, Echternach, Géorgian Immigrant Musicians in Tbilisi, Musiciennes en Martinique... and is
the guest of prestigious halls : Théâtre
des Champs-Elysées, Salle Gaveau,
Salle Cortot, Palais Prinz Carl,
Tokyo Opera City Hall, Kyoto Concert
Hall, Recital Hall at V. Sarajishvili State Conservatory... She performs with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czestochowa Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland etc.
Also loves chamber music, Yuri is a member of “Pleiades Trio” since 2014.
In 2010 in Cabourg, she gave the first performance of “Sonata called Vinteuil for violon and piano” by Claude Pascal, inspired by the work of Marcel Proust. The whole concert was recorded live at Polymnie label (POL210579). She plays an Andrea Guarnerius violin dating from 1697, courtesy of a Japanese anonymous sponsor. Yuri currently resides in Paris.


黒田裕理、ヴァイオリニスト、ニューヨーク市生まれ。パリ・エコール・ノルマル音楽院で ジェラール・プーレ氏に師事、コンサーティスト課程を審査員全員一致で卒業。パリ・ バッハ国際ヴァイオリンコンクール第一位、リピッツァー国際コンクール特別賞など。 ヨーロッパを中心にソロ、室内楽の分野で演奏活動を行い、各地のフェスティバルに招待 されている。1697年製のアンドレア・グァルネリを貸与使用。パリ在住。
プロコフィエフがヴァイオリンの為に残した最後のソナタ。古典的な形式の中に、ロシアの ロマンチックな叙情主義、スラブ民謡やマズルカの要素を織り交ぜた作品。 20世紀を代表するヴァイオリニストの一人、ミルシテイン作曲のパガニーニアーナは、 パガニーニの有名なカプリース24番をテーマに、超絶技巧をちりばめた難曲。 第一次世界大戦を背景に、若きヒンデミットの書いた初めてのヴァイオリン・ソナタ。 後期ロマン主義とは一線を画し、バロック音楽、特にバッハのポリフォニーに影響を 受けている。
ローマ大賞受賞の作曲家、クロード・パスカル氏最晩年の遺作を含む二曲。 90歳を過ぎてなお創作意欲の旺盛であったパスカル氏と、 長年にわたって彼の作品を演奏してきた黒田裕理との コラボレーションによって生まれた 、ユーモアと エスプリに富んだ小品。彼女に献呈されている。 フロレンティン・ミュルソン女史は、2024年ヴィクト ワール・ド・ラ・ミュージック賞受賞。ハーモニクスや ピッツィカート、ヴァイオリンの四本の弦を四つの 声部に見立てたフーガなど、弦楽器奏法を熟知 した作品。ウェッソン島のフェスティバルで
黒田裕理によって初演された。

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