Webern – 4 Pieces Op 7 For Violin/Piano

In 1910 Webern composed these four small movements, which were finally revised in 1914. Despite the strong reduction in external dimensions, they are among the most eloquent that Webern has ever written. The violin part in particular is kept virtuoso, a true compendium of the violin styles. The original combination of tremolo on the bridge and pizzicato at the beginning of the second piece is as rarely found in Webern as the octaves that appear shortly afterwards. Fast and slow sentences alternate in regular succession. The extremely slow movements (Nos. 1 and 3) use the tonal possibilities of the violin tone (the first tone of the third piece lasts 20 seconds) and the piano pedal; standing sounds alternate with slow ostinati. The extroverted second piece brings a seemingly colorful jumble of divergent figures, similar to the third piano piece in Schnberg’s op. 11. The contrast is its form principle. As in the fourth piece, the dynamic register extends from ppp to fff in the second. The last piece, however, is less discontinuous: from the agitated outburst of the first bars it leads over to the adagio at the end, fading away “like a breath”. (Manfred Angerer)