Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

“Francis Poulenc wasn’t one to shy away from politics in his music. Penned in France during World War Two, this violin sonata was provocatively dedicated to the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, thought to have been assassinated during the Spanish Civil War either for his socialist leanings or his sexuality. Each movement references Tea for Two, a popular song banned by the occupying Nazi forces. Devastated by Ginette Neveau’s tragic death shortly after her rapturous premiere of the work, Poulenc revised the final movement, weaving in the gut-wrenching phrases for which the piece is now known.

Béla Bartók too found himself at odds with the rise of fascist powers, many of his later works bearing the weight of war and oppression. This earlier work is filled with fragments of traditional Hungarian folk melodies, juxtaposed with violent outbursts of passion and anger.

Described by the composer as a work of ‘charm and gaiety rather than of philosophical import,’ Arthur Benjamin’s mischievous violin sonatina is actually one of his more harmonically complex works.”

Courtenay Cleary Violin
Alex Raineri Piano

Francis POULENC Sonate pour violon et piano, FP. 119
Béla BARTÓK Violin Sonata No. 2, sz. 76
Arthur BENJAMIN Sonatina for Violin and Piano

Complimentary afternoon tea following the recital

Featured non-Australian music: Poulenc, Bartok

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on (02) 6247 9191

Featured Australian Works

Featured artists

• Performer Courtenay Cleary
• Performer Alex Raineri