The evening’s star will be the distinguished young violinist Nathan Amaral, born in Rio de Janeiro. He has performed solo with such renowned orchestras as Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Philharmonia Orchestra. During the concert at the NFM, the Brazilian virtuoso will be accompanied by British pianist and teacher George Rowley. The programme includes three clearly different compositions, whose composers – Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, and Heitor Villa-Lobos – pursued different artistic goals and used entirely different means of expression.

The Sonata in G minor is one of Claude Debussy’s last works. It was completed in 1917, just a year before his death. Gaston Poulet performed the violin part, and Debussy himself sat at the piano – he never performed publicly again. The piece is the third in a planned, but unfinished, cycle of six sonatas for various instruments. The French composer’s characteristic refinement of colour, richness of articulation, and capricious narrative are interwoven here with a delicate, melancholic mood.

Edward Elgar, five years older than Debussy, was not a revolutionary in his work on the scale of his French colleague. He remained faithful to the Romantic tradition, and his Violin Sonata in E minor was written in 1918. The composer penned it in a country house near Fittleworth; as his wife noted, the atmosphere of the place had a significant impact on the character of the music. Elgar intended to dedicate the sonata to his friend Marie Joshua, and in one of his letters he recalled: “I’m afraid it doesn’t take us much further, but it is full of golden sounds, and I like it very much; however, you shouldn’t expect anything violently chromatic or cubist.” The recipient of these words passed away shortly after receiving the letter, so the composer, wishing to honour her memory, repeated the main theme of the slow movement at the end of the sonata’s finale.

The third composer featured in the programme is Heitor Villa-Lobos, author of nine pieces entitled Bachianas Brasileiras, written for various ensembles and in diverse forms. They are united by two of their composer’s great passions: a fascination with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and inspiration from Brazilian folklore. For a long time, Villa-Lobos played in street bands called chôros, and his work initially found little recognition among the Brazilian music establishment. His breakthrough came with the help of Arthur Rubinstein, who supported the artist in travelling to France, where his music was enthusiastically received. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, originally written for voice and eight cellos, is a broad-sweeping piece in which a warm sound meets a subtle tinge of melancholy.