DEBUSSY — Sonata

Claude Debussy: Sonata
Emma Resmini, flute
Zsche Chuang Rimbo Wong, viola
Héloïse Carlean-Jones, harp

Performed on Monday, February 22, 2016
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

0:00 Pastorale: Lento, dolce rubato
6:55 Interlude: Tempo di minuetto
12:50 Finale: Allegro moderato ma risoluto

Claude Debussy’s complete chamber music numbers fewer than a dozen published works, and is by far his least explored genre in comparison to his more prolific output for orchestra, solo piano, and voice. However, these few chamber works are among the most significant contributions to the chamber music repertoire and greatly influenced other composers. As an example, his string quartet from 1893 is considered by many to be a watershed moment in Western music.

The Sonata for flute, viola, and harp (1915) was the second in an intended cycle of six sonatas for various instruments. Unfortunately, Debussy did not live to complete the cycle and this sonata would be his penultimate chamber work, preceded by the Cello Sonata (1915) and followed by the Violin Sonata (1917). This sonata was the first major use of an instrumental combination that would ultimately be employed hundreds of times by notable 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Sofia Gubaidulina, Toru Takemitsu, and Kaija Saariaho.