Sonata for Violin and Piano

Yrjö Kilpinen (1892-1959) is most known for his hundreds of lieds and song cycles. His instrumental compositions have been less know, ie. the six piano sonatas and suite for gamba and piano.

Large-scale Sonata for violin and piano is dated in 1935 with opus number 87. The work was never finished, and National Library in Helsinki holds several sketches and versions in its Kilpinen collection.

In 2015 violinist Frida Backman commissioned a completion of the Sonata from composer Walter Wolff. Wolff worked on the sketches and versions until 2018, when the work was completed and the Sonata premiered.

The Sonata contains all of Kilpinen's known trademarks: singing melody lines and sudden stops, encouraging for inner contemplation. The crystal-clear chords on the piano, on the other hand the close intervals in tenor registry. The Sonata is a good-spirited work, with fresh folk-music like passages.

The present publication is the first publication of the Sonata. It sheds light to Kilpinen as an instrumental composer.

The movements are: Allegro - Andante - Andante Moderato - Allegro