From Elegance to Exuberance: Fauré and Strauss Violin Sonatas

Johanna Roos (violinist) and one of South Africa’s most interesting and exciting young pianists, Gerhard Joubert, perform the first Violin Sonata by Fauré and the late-Romantic Strauss Violin Sonata.

Don’t miss this rare chance to hear Johanna and Gerhard in these masterworks that blends charm, elegance, excitement, exuberance and romance, before Gerhard continues his piano studies in Switzerland in September.

Gabrielle Fauré: Violin Sonata No.1 in A major, Opus 13.

The composer Saint-Saëns had a huge admiration for Fauré and said of the first sonata:

This sonata has everything that will tempt the gourmet: novel forms, exquisite modulations, uncommon tone colours, unexpected rhythms, and hovering above all, there is a magic that envelops the whole work and brings the masses of ordinary listeners to accept the wildest audacities as something perfectly natural.

Richard Strauss: Violin Sonata in E-flat major, Op.18.

This sonata is mesmerising, bursting with youthful passion, soaring melodies, and is one of the most virtuosic sonatas of the genre.